Sociologie Românească, Vol. VII, no. 1/2009, pp. 31-44.
Teorii ale identităţii colective: între esenţialism şi constructivism. De la identitate la identificare
Collective identity theories - between essentialism and constructivism. From identity to identification
Horaţiu Rusu
Abstract: This article analyses the essentialist-constructivist debate in the field of the theories of collective identities. First the author identifies the main assumptions of the identity conceptions in both perspectives, their common traits and their critics. Then it is argued that the relation between the essentialist theories of identity and the constructivist ones should be seen rather as of hybridization than of opposition. Considering this, a working definition and a methodological way of analysing the collective identity concept is proposed. This article analyses the essentialist-constructivist debate in the field of the theories of collective identities. First the author identifies the main assumptions of the identity conceptions in both perspectives, their common traits and their critics. Then it is argued that the relation between the essentialist theories of identity and the constructivist ones should be seen rather as of hybridization than of opposition. Considering this, a working definition and a methodological way of analysing the collective identity concept is proposed.
Keywords: collective identity, essentialism, constructivism, structures, categories.
Cuvinte-cheie: identitate colectivă, esenţialism, constructivism, structuri, categorii.