Piecing Together Cultural Identity: Negotiation, Creation & Myth

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University of New Mexico
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We are seeking contributions that investigate the interdisciplinary implications of identity formation in fields such as literature, anthropology, cultural studies, philosophy, art history, political science, and sociology. Negotiation of identity takes place in a network of vast and turbulent discourses. Political, sexual, ethnic and economical constructions interplay with the present idealization of individuality and choice. How one defines oneself is vital to how one interacts with the world, the choices that we make, the ideas that we support: what is identity or what does identity consist of? Is it a myth, a construction that we choose, or something thrust upon us? The emergence of the internet and other new communication technologies has complicated the networks of discourses in which the negotiation and creation of identity occurs. In a world destined for change, the question of identity seems vital as ever because where we are going is linked closely with how we see ourselves and others.