Adams Matthew
Faculty of Humanities, Nottingham Trent University.
Br J Sociol. 2003 Jun;54(2):221-38. doi: 10.1080/0007131032000080212.
This article attempts to engage with a tendency in the theorization of social change and self-identity, evident in the work of a number of contemporary social theorists, to place an extended process of reflexivity at the heart of modern identity. As symptomatic of 'neo-modern' accounts of selfhood, critical readings of Giddens, Beck, Castells and some aspects of social theory more generally, and their account of modern reflexivity's relationship to culture, are assessed. In light of these criticisms, ways in which culture might still play an important part in the shaping of identity are considered. The relationship between language, culture and reflexivity, drawing from philosophy, sociology and G. H. Mead's own brand of social psychology, are all utilized in establishing a critique of the role Giddens and others designate for culture in the constitution of the contemporary self. By potentially repositioning self-identity in its connection to culture, the overall bearing of reflexivity upon the processes of self-identity is thus questioned. It is argued that a culturally-situated, yet fluid and multifarious account of self-identity is a necessary analytical and normative alternative.
本文试图探讨社会变革与自我认同理论化过程中的一种倾向，这种倾向在一些当代社会理论家的作品中很明显，即将反思性的扩展过程置于现代认同的核心。作为 “新现代” 自我观的症状，对吉登斯、贝克、卡斯特尔斯以及更广泛的社会理论的某些方面进行批判性解读，并评估他们对现代反思性与文化关系的阐述。鉴于这些批评，我们思考了文化在身份塑造中仍可能发挥重要作用的方式。从哲学、社会学以及G. H. 米德自己的社会心理学品牌中汲取的语言、文化与反思性之间的关系，都被用于对吉登斯等人在当代自我构成中赋予文化的角色进行批判。通过潜在地重新定位自我认同与文化的联系，反思性对自我认同过程的总体影响因此受到质疑。有人认为，一种文化情境化、但流动且多样的自我认同解释是一种必要的分析性和规范性选择。
