
Interpreting Identities
Dimensions of Power, Presence, and Belonging
Bristol University Press
1st Edition
Published on 22. April 2025
Book
Hardback
234 pages
978-1-5292-2814-4 (ISBN)
Description
This edited collection brings together social scientists to interpret identity from a wide range of analytical perspectives. Drawing on multiple interpretive traditions from the last 100 years, the book explores how underlying social, cultural and psychological forces shape the dimensions of identity.
Chapters emphasize how identity forms and functions in relation to key sociological issues such as social power, social control and the production and reproduction of social inequalities. Contributors also explore the flexibility of identities, showcasing how different perspectives and analytical tools reveal the nuances of rejected, unrealized and aspirational identities. By navigating these dimensions, the book reveals the interplay between personal biography and broader social life.
Chapters emphasize how identity forms and functions in relation to key sociological issues such as social power, social control and the production and reproduction of social inequalities. Contributors also explore the flexibility of identities, showcasing how different perspectives and analytical tools reveal the nuances of rejected, unrealized and aspirational identities. By navigating these dimensions, the book reveals the interplay between personal biography and broader social life.
Reviews / Votes
"With insightful analyses, exciting data and theoretical enquiries that directly address today's rather intricate academic discussions about identity and power, this book becomes both a page-turner and an analytical exemplar." David Waesterfors, Lund UniversityMore details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bristol
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
1 s/w Tabelle
1 Tables, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
508 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5292-2814-4 (9781529228144)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
approx. 09/2026
1st Edition
Interpretive Lenses in Sociology
€35.00
Not yet published

E-Book
04/2025
1st Edition
Bristol University Press
€40.99
Available for download
Persons
Wayne Brekhus is Professor of Sociology at the University of Missouri.
Susie Scott is Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex.
Susie Scott is Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex.
Content
1. Introduction: Dimensions of Power, Presence, and Belonging in Contemporary Social Identities - Wayne H. Brekhus and Susie Scott
Part 1: Interpreting Intersectional Identities: Unmarked Privilege and Marked Otherness
2. 'Way Down South in the Land of Cotton, Where Being White Is Not Forgotten': White Southerners' Negotiations of Identity and Advantage - James M. Thomas (JT), Madeline Burdine, and Erin Oakes
3. Trans Men Navigating Male Privilege and the Complexities of Intersectional Identities - Armani Beck
4. Expanding or Rejecting National Identities? Identity Work and Anti-Racism among Racialized Minorities in Norway - Mette Andersson
5. Standing up to Power: Black Women, Resistance Capital, and Intersectional Identities on College Campuses - Veronica A. Newton
Part 2: Negative Negotiations: Reverse, Rejected, Unmarked, and Aspirational Identities
6. Are We What We (Don't) Consume? From Negative Possible Selves to Identity Refusal in Consumption Contexts - Emma Banister
7. Questions of Identity and Belonging among Hyper-Mobile Professionals - Patrizia Hoyer
8. Not Feeling Old but Looking Old? The Shaping of Identities and Non-Identities among Older Adults during a Pandemic - Emilia Leinonen
9. No-Body Relations and Negative Negotiations: Selfhood After Traumatic Loss - Georgie Akehurst
10. Afterword: Interpreting Intersectional Identities and Negative Negotiations - Wayne H. Brekhus and Susie Scott
Part 1: Interpreting Intersectional Identities: Unmarked Privilege and Marked Otherness
2. 'Way Down South in the Land of Cotton, Where Being White Is Not Forgotten': White Southerners' Negotiations of Identity and Advantage - James M. Thomas (JT), Madeline Burdine, and Erin Oakes
3. Trans Men Navigating Male Privilege and the Complexities of Intersectional Identities - Armani Beck
4. Expanding or Rejecting National Identities? Identity Work and Anti-Racism among Racialized Minorities in Norway - Mette Andersson
5. Standing up to Power: Black Women, Resistance Capital, and Intersectional Identities on College Campuses - Veronica A. Newton
Part 2: Negative Negotiations: Reverse, Rejected, Unmarked, and Aspirational Identities
6. Are We What We (Don't) Consume? From Negative Possible Selves to Identity Refusal in Consumption Contexts - Emma Banister
7. Questions of Identity and Belonging among Hyper-Mobile Professionals - Patrizia Hoyer
8. Not Feeling Old but Looking Old? The Shaping of Identities and Non-Identities among Older Adults during a Pandemic - Emilia Leinonen
9. No-Body Relations and Negative Negotiations: Selfhood After Traumatic Loss - Georgie Akehurst
10. Afterword: Interpreting Intersectional Identities and Negative Negotiations - Wayne H. Brekhus and Susie Scott