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Social Identities in Black and White *
Author(s) -
Wellman Barry
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1971.tb01200.x
Subject(s) - sociology , salient , symbolic interactionism , identity (music) , white (mutation) , collective identity , social identity theory , convergence (economics) , gender studies , race (biology) , interactionism , social group , epistemology , social psychology , social science , psychology , aesthetics , political science , law , economics , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , politics , gene , economic growth
The theoretical usefulness of a convergence of symbolic interactionism and urban sociology is discussed. A method is proposed for the analysis of large numbers of social identities. Black racial identity, in particular, is considered. Racial identity is found to be far more salient for blacks than for whites, but even for blacks, a number of other identities are seen to be more frequently employed. The notion of a “standard package of identities” is developed, and the utility of such a model for understanding group differentiation and inter‐group linkages is explored.