Self, identity and globalization in times. . .

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Self, identity and globalization in times. . .
Self, identity and globalization
in times of uncertainty A dialogical
analysis Hubert J.M. Hermans Radboud
University of Nijmegen The Netherlands
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Dialogical Self

• Dialogical Self
• inspired by
• James American pragmatism
• Baktins Russian dialogical school

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Four notions of self Richardson
Four notions of the self

• Premodern notion
• - self defined by a meaningful, hierarchical
  cosmic order connectedness
• distinction between mere living on earth and a
  higher better kind of life
• moral responsibility

• Modern notion
• self-contained individualism
• no complicity in language, culture, and
  community
• self is its own ground agency

• Post-modern notion
• - decentering of the self
• self as linguistic construction
• fragmentation and loss of agency
• power relations

• Dialogical notion
• - Acknowledging the existence of power relations
  (post-modern), agency (modern) and moral
  responsibility (premodern)
• Richardson, F.C. et al. (1998) Toward a
  dialogical self. American Behavioral Scientist,
  41 (4), 496-515.

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2003 Annual Review of Sociology (1)

• Peter Callero in Annual Review of Sociology
  (2003)
• listed some central self-concepts in psychology
• - self-enhancement
• - self-consistency
• self-monitoring
• self-efficacy
• self-regulation A modern project?
• self-presentation
• self-verification
• self-knowledge
• self-control
• self-handicapping
• self-deception
• Callero, P. L. (2003). The sociology of the self.
  Annual Review of Sociology, 29,
• 115133.

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2003 Annual Review of Sociology (2)
Stable and changing . . . There is a
tendency in mainstream psychology to focus on
stability, unity, and conformity and de-emphasize
the sociological principles of social
construction. The self that is socially
constructed may congeal around a relatively
stable set of cultural meanings, but these
meanings can never be permanent or unchanging.
(p. 127)
Singular and multidimensional Similarly, the
self that is socially constructed may appear
centered, unified, and singular, but this
symbolic structure will be as multidimensional
and diverse as the social relationships that
surround it. (p. 127)
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2003 Annual Review of Sociology (3)
Relations of power Finally, the self that is
socially constructed is never a bounded quality
of the individual or simple expression of
psychological characteristics it is a
fundamentally social phenomenon, where concepts,
images, and understandings are deeply determined
by relations of power. When these principles are
ignored or rejected, the self is often
conceptualized as a vessel for storing all the
particulars of a person (p. 127).
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Definition Dialogical Self
The Dialogical Self
A dynamic multiplicity of I-positions in the
landscape of the mind.
As voiced positions they are involved in
dialogical relationships both within and between
people.
Dialogical relationships involve both interchange
and relative dominance. Hermans, H.J.M.,
Dimaggio, G. (2004). The dialogical self in
psychotherapy. New York Brunner Routledge.
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Hubert Hermans-Spronck
Hermans
city independent business practical optimistic
Hubert
freedom independence optimistic love of
nature pessimistic

rural/ farmers misfortune sensitive pessimistic
Spronck
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Word I in Sranon Tongo
Different modalities of the word 'I in the
Sranon Tongo, the language of Afro-Surinam
people   Mi I Mi kra My soul, I A misi
(f'mi) My feminine part A masra (f'mi) My
masculine part Mi misi nanga mi masra My feminine
and masculine part Mi dyodyo My divine
parents Mi skin My body, I Mi geest My
spirit, I Wekker, G. (1994). Eindelijk kom ik
tot mezelf Finally, I become myself. In J.
Hoogsteder (Red.), Etnocentrisme Communicatie
in de Hulpverlening (pp. 45-60). Utrecht
Landelijke Federatie van Welzijnsorganisaties
voor Surinamers.


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Circles Accepting position

OUTSIDE
EXTERNAL
INTERNAL
avoidant
father grandfather
perfectionist
self-accepting
accepting therapist
Hermans, H.J.M. (2003). The construction and
reconstruction of a dialogical self. Journal of
Constructivist Psychology, 16 (2), 89-130
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James, Mine
Temporal extension of the self Inclusion of
premodern, modern, postmodern elements
Spatial extension of the self Transition
between Me and Mine (James, 1890) "not only his
body and his psychic powers, but his clothes and
his house, his wife and children, his ancestors
and friends, his reputation and works, his lands
and horses, and yacht and bank-account" (James,
1890, p. 291).
However . . . . The spatial extension is not
theoretically exhausted it is intensely
connected with the outside domain of the self . .
. Beyond James Mine.
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Appadurai Global systems theory
Global systems theorists (e.g., Appadurai, 1990)
Contact zones permit two-way intensification of
communication that runs across the boundaries of
many groups and cultures simultaneously.
On these contact zones global landscapes emerge
technoscapes, mediascapes, ethnoscapes,
finanscapes, and ideoscapes.
Whereas in traditional homogeneous societies,
ideology, media communication, and technology are
to some degree integrated, they are widely
separated and disjunctive in contemporary
society. Appadurai, A. (1990). Disjuncture and
difference in the global cultural economy. In M.
Featherstone (Ed). Global culture Nationalism,
globalization, and modernity (pp. 295-310).
London Sage.

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Circles (4) Scape model
ECOSCAPE

IDEOSCAPE
sellers, advertisers sponsors
new age pastor imam-on-line rabbi

independent prestige owner of a yacht
spiritual religious meaning
tv-personalities sms friends fluid others
chatter on-line person belonging
MEDIASCAPE
my facelift I as bionic my memory chip
surgeons technicians gene therapists
victim of inflation
bank representatives financial advisors IMF
TECHNOSCAPE
FINANSCAPE
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Uncertainty
Main aspects of the experience of uncertainty
Complexity many parts with a variety of
relations
Ambiguity suspension of clarity
Deficit knowledge absence of a superordinate
knowledge structure
Unpredictability lack of control of future
developments Hermans, H.J.M., Dimaggio, G.
(2007). Self, identity, and globalization in
times of uncertainty A dialogical analysis.
Review of General Psychology, 11, 31-61
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Global-local dialectics
Global-Local Dialectics
Localization as a counterforce to
globalization (re-appraisal of local traditions
defensive localization)
Globalization as access to different local
values, practices and traditions
Three-level approach as a correction on the
self-contained identity individual, local,
global Hermans, H.J.M., Dimaggio, G.
(2007). Self, identity, and globalization in
times of uncertainty A dialogical analysis.
Review of General Psychology, 11, 31-61
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Implications of scapes for the self
Glocalization implications

• Higher density and heterogeneity of positions
  (e.g., cacophony of voices in everyday life
  avatars in MUD

- Fragmentation of positions (e.g., Islam boy
exposed to Western sex industry)
- Position leaps discontinuous change (e.g.,
cosmetic surgery)
- New coalitions of positions (e.g., independent
and child)

• Change of the nature of dialogues between
  positions (e.g., more brief, transient, with
  anonymous others intensified traffic of
  positions)

- Reduction of the repertoire to one or a few
powerful positions as a reaction to complexity
and uncertainty Hermans, H.J.M., Dimaggio, G.
(2007). Self, identity, and globalization in
times of uncertainty A dialogical analysis.
Review of General Psychology, 11, 31-61
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Positioning dialogical self theory
Essentials Dialogical Self Theory

• acknowledgment of both centrifugal
  (multivoicedness) and centripetal forces (the
  creation of coherence and unity through dialogue)
  in a multivoiced, yet substantial self.

• avoiding both the risk of the ontological unity
  of the self-contained individualism and the risk
  of fragmentation (with its neglect of the self as
  a source of agency).

• ethical aspect stimulation of dialogue between
  groups and cultures requires the stimulation of
  dialogue within the individual self.

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Cambridge conference 2008
International Conference on the
Dialogical Self 26-29 August 2008 Cambridge,
UK www.dialogicalscience.com