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Situating the self in global context: Reconceptualizing transnational and cosmopolitan identities
Author(s) -
Watson Lesley
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/soc4.12592
Subject(s) - cosmopolitanism , transnationalism , sociology , social connectedness , identity (music) , globalization , context (archaeology) , gender studies , national identity , epistemology , social psychology , political science , politics , psychology , aesthetics , law , geography , philosophy , archaeology
Abstract Scholars interested in the effects of globalization on internationally mobile individuals have tended to study this by drawing comparisons between national identity and transnationalism (i.e., connectedness and involvement in more than one country simultaneously) and cosmopolitanism (i.e., a sense of belonging to the world as a whole rather than a single nation). Empirical patterns generally suggest the pervasiveness and resilience of national identity even among globally mobile populations, but findings do show that international experience can bring about changes to individual identity. By comparing transnationalism and cosmopolitanism to national identity, the extant literature makes a tacit assumption that these identities are group‐based. The social psychological literature on identity refers to three different types, or bases, of identity: group, role, and person. This paper argues for a reconceptualization of transnationalism and cosmopolitanism as role‐ or person‐based identities, and outlines several avenues for research based on this reconceptualization.