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In Between States: NationalIdentity Practices Among German Jewish Immigrants
Author(s) -
Gerson Judith M.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
political psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.419
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-9221
pISSN - 0162-895X
DOI - 10.1111/0162-895x.00232
Subject(s) - identity (music) , german , sociology , clarity , narrative , construct (python library) , immigration , collective identity , gender studies , identity formation , social psychology , epistemology , psychology , political science , law , social science , self concept , aesthetics , politics , history , biochemistry , philosophy , chemistry , linguistics , archaeology , computer science , programming language
Recent critiques of the identity literature have bemoaned the lack of clarity in conceptualizations of identity. R. W. Connell's (1987) theory of practice and Dorothy Smith's (1987, pp. 88–97) notion of “the everyday as problematic” provide the foundation for articulating the construct of identity practices. Identity practices refer to the routine actions and ways of thinking, as well as the representations of those acts and thoughts, that enable people to claim collective identities. Although identity practices mark group membership, they also signal marginality to or exclusion from other groups. This paper explores the importance of understanding identity practices at micro levels of interaction as well as macro‐level structures and dominant culture narratives. The specific empirical focus—on German Jewish immigrants who fled Nazi Germany and arrived in the United States by 1945—enables an interrogation of the meanings associated with national identity practices.