Concepts of the Self (Key Concepts) [Paperback]

Anthony Elliott (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0745623689 | ISBN-13: 978-0745623689 | Publication Date: August 29, 2001 | Edition: 1

• New edition of a successful key concepts book.
• Clearly written introductory text by an internationally renowned author.
• Has been fully revised and updated in the light of adopter feedback.
• The book is updated throughout, with new material in particular on emergent trends in the area such as Zizek and globalization.
• Adopted at levels 1 and 2 on courses on identity, the self and social theory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This great little book contains everything you wished but did not dare to ask about the meaning of the self one of the thorniest, most contentious, exciting and enraging issues of our times and our lives in these times. To the questions you might have asked or are likely to ask yet, Elliott offers answers that are carefully weighted, balanced and realistic drawing from the vast treasury of sociological insights and moving freely between the variety of complementary even if ostensibly adversary perspectives. Elliott's book is good to read, to learn and to think with. It helps to understand what it means to have a self and to be oneself an understanding that itself is a foremost condition of both. -- Zygmunt Bauman, Universities of Leeds and Warsaw

‘Anthony Elliott has done it again! No one writing today has quite the range and depth of understanding of self-theory. Elliott writes with confidence, clarity, and great care of all the prominent concepts of self. And no one I know can write so reliably of the classic theorists in the same concise book as the newest queer and postmodern ones. No reader, whether student or scholar, will want to be without this brilliant book.’ – Professor Charles Lemert, Wesleyan University (USA)

‘This is an engaging book. In it Anthony Elliott reassures us that the self is not only alive and well but full of imagination creativity too.’ – Professor Janet Sayers, University of Kent, Canterbury

From the Back Cover

Concepts of the Self is a compelling introduction to contemporary controversies over the self and self-identity in the social sciences. Written by an author of international reputation, the book concentrates mainly on the work of social theorists and cultural analysts who have attempted to place the self in relation to psychological processes, social contexts and historical perspectives. Mead, Freud, Goffman, Foucault, Chodorow, Kristeva and Baudrillard are among the figures covered; the new edition also introduces material on iek. Elliott also connects debates about the self directly to identity politics, the sociology of personal relationships and intimacy, and the politics of sexuality.

The book focuses upon cultural and political issues, and breaks new ground in integrating interdisciplinary perspectives. In analysing debates about the self, Elliott draws extensively on contemporary social and cultural theory. Among the traditions of thought discussed are symbolic interactionism, modern sociology, post-structuralist thought, feminist and queer theory, psychoanalysis, and postmodernism.

Concepts of the Self is an accessible and invaluable introductory text for students in the areas of social and political theory, sociology, social psychology, cultural studies and gender studies.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 171 pages
• Publisher: Polity; 1 edition (August 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745623689
• ISBN-13: 978-0745623689
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,163,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Language is at the heart of the constitution of the self, April 29, 2007

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Michael A Neulander "Political Philosophy" (VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Concepts of the Self (Key Concepts) (Hardcover)

Read this for graduate course in humanities.
Anthony Elliott's "Concepts of the Self" agrees with the social psychologist George Herbert Mead, that the effort of self-examination is always dialogic. "Language is at the heart of the constitution of the self." People learn how to understand themselves and develop their "authentic selves" through conversation with others, through their social and cultural interactions, and most importantly, through the perceptions and judgments by others.

Many people have written on the inability of humans to be able to create an "authentic self." The father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, thought it difficult for a person to discover their "authentic self" since he believed that humans were not rational beings. Since Freud thought that human behavior was controlled by the unconscious, his research led him to believe that humans were constantly wrestling with the confining restraints civilization imposed on humans. The perception and judgment by others is where the creation of the "authentic self" is hardest to attain for the civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois puts it most succinctly in writing about the struggle that African-Americans have with defining their "authentic self." "It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others." Thus, Du Bois thought authenticity was a longing for African-Americans, but impossible to attain because they had to live with their double-consciousness. Judgment by others is also where the sociologist Erving Goffman focuses his attention in explaining why there is no such thing as an "authentic self." Goffman believes that human identity is made up of acts that humans perform essentially as theatrical performances. "If identity is performed, then the self is an effect, not a cause." The feminist Judith Butler and queer theorist Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick both criticize the idea of gender-based identity. Both women agree that an "authentic self" crosses the traditional boundaries of gender, race, and sexual preference. As an example, postcolonial women and women of color have criticized feminist for lumping all women's identity into the one gender category. A postmodern critic of the `authentic self" is the sociologist Sherry Turkle. Her research into virtual sex on the internet leads her to believe that people have the ability to lead multiple lives and change gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity. "In short, the individual can devise a net-self that outstrips the real self."

Despite all of the criticisms of Elliott's concept of authenticity, I do agree that it is possible to be an "authentic self" in today's image-saturated and cultural environment. The important characteristic of the self that surfaces from what Elliott and his critics decry, is that the multitude of stimuli that one receives from dialog with other humans, society, and culture is conducive to the creation of an "authentic self" and not an impediment. People are capable of assimilating all the sensory perceptions that they receive, interpret them, and use what they deem necessary to fashion their own "authentic self."

Recommended reading for those interested in medieval philosophy, psychology and the humanities.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Self-fascination, November 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Concepts of the Self (Key Concepts) (Hardcover)

The book covers everything on the self from Freud to Foucault. Excellent.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Social theory of the self, November 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Concepts of the Self (Key Concepts) (Paperback)

This is quite simply the best book on self-identity and the changing social context of identity that I have read. Simple, elegant and thought-provoking.