Collective identities, empty signifiers and solvable secrets

In modern societies collective identity is both an empty signifier and a sacred center: even as its existence is taken for granted, what is or should be is subject to a host of different and often conflicting interpretations. However, the narratives and representations of collective identity are in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of social theory 2016-02, Vol.19 (1), p.111-126
Main Authors: Giesen, Bernhard, Seyfert, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Criticism
Cultural capital
Debates
Ethics
Group identity
Identity
Modern society
Narratives
Sacredness
Secrecy
Simmel, Georg (1858-1918)
Speech
Trauma
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Summary:In modern societies collective identity is both an empty signifier and a sacred center: even as its existence is taken for granted, what is or should be is subject to a host of different and often conflicting interpretations. However, the narratives and representations of collective identity are in no way undermined by these public debates; these signifiers are seen rather as a problem that is in principle amenable to solution, as something that ought to be (re)solved. In fact, the empty signifiers of collective identity are constructed as solvable secrets precisely and primarily in public speech, open debate and perpetual critique. This article identifies the public and private modes of dealing with empty signifiers – through collective traumatic repressions, private resentments, public discourses adhering to argumentation ethics, and individual fabulations.
ISSN:1368-4310
1461-7137
DOI:10.1177/1368431015573364