Social representations and identity: Content, process, and power

Abstract

Power, social positioning, identity, and social knowledge construction underpin most contemporary social issues. However, in many instances the topic of study is the issue itself which can lead to an implicit conceptualization of the issue as static, distinct and separable from the identity, and relationships, of the groups to whom the issue pertains. Explicitly drawing from the non-individualistic perspective offered by social representations theory, this book presents an alternative view of social identity by articulating the inseparable dynamic relationships that exist between content, process and power relations when social identity is embedded in social knowledge.