Our identities are influenced by those around us including our families and friends, school peers, community member, etc. 

Identity is formed through:

• Discovering and developing a person’s potential 

• Choosing a purpose in life 

• Finding opportunities to utilize that potential and purpose 

Identity is a person’s sense of self, established by their unique characteristics, affiliations, and social roles.

Comprehension Questions:

• What happens when identity is defined for you?

• What happens when identity is disrupted?

Think about 3 characteristics that define who you are. 

Example: I am an anthropologist, I am a woman, I am a humanitarian.

Decide on what characteristic you feel defines you the most.

What is one thing that makes you proud of that identity? What is one thing you wish people never said about that identity again?

What are identity politics?

Identity Politics: Politics in which groups of people having a particular racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity tend to promote their own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns of any larger political group. (Merriam-Webster)

Identity Politics - Heyes, Cressida, "Identity Politics", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)

First published Tue Jul 16, 2002; substantive revision Sat Jul 11, 2020

“The laden phrase “identity politics” has come to signify a wide range of political activity and theorizing founded in the shared experiences of injustice of members of certain social groups. Rather than organizing solely around belief systems, programmatic manifestos, or party affiliation, identity political formations typically aim to secure the political freedom of a specific constituency marginalized within its larger context. Members of that constituency assert or reclaim ways of understanding their distinctiveness that challenge dominant characterizations, with the goal of greater self-determination.”

Lectures