This interdisciplinary volume analyzes the strong links between the way we form our individual and collective identities and the type of society in which we live. The contributors-who include sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and philosophers-focus on the issue of modern identity both on a conceptual level and in the context of European unification and progressive globalization. Among the issues examined are the tension between our fluid, situation-specific identity and our constant attempt to create a coherent image of the self; the transformation of identities resulting from the collective experiences of East European societies in the aftermath of Communism; and the interplay between the evolution of the modes of constitution of identity and the social changes determined by European integration.

Focuses on the links between the way we form our identities and the type of society in which we live.

PrefaceIntroduction: On "Identity," Fixity, and Change in Social Theory and Social Life under Globalized Conditions by Marian KempnyConceptualizing and Representing "Identity"Identity--Then, Now, What For? by Zygmunt BaumanAn Essay on the Fluidity of Identity by Martin O'BrienHow is the Identity to be Visualized? Two Remarks on Identity and Architecture by Ewa RewersThe Sacred Heart of Jesus--Shaping the Visual Identity of Modern Catholicism by Ewa KlekotDifference and Identity-Formation in the Gloabalizing WorldThe Primacy of Difference, or the Lack of Equilibrium in Contemporary Moral Discourse by Agata Bielik-RobsonIdentity and Difference in Postmodern Culture by Zbyszko MelosikMachines of Identity by Tomasz SzkudlarekBeing Different: Construction of Individual Identity by Malgorzata MelchiorThe Prodigal Son: New Spiritualities by Anna E. KubiakStructuring of Identities in Contemporary EuropeEurope, Travelling Light: Europeanization and Globalization by Jan Nederveen PieterseSeparatism in Europe around the Turn of the Century by Peter KloosPeer Groups as Frames for Identification by Talja BloklandGerman Postnational Identity and Western Republicanism by Winfried ThaaConsumer Identity in Contemporary Poland by Aldona Jaw/lowskaConstruction of Identity and Material Culture in Contemporary Poland by Bogumila PuchalskaIndex