Concepts of the Self

by Anthony Elliott

Overview

This new, updated edition provides a lively, lucid and compelling introduction to contemporary controversies over the self and self-identity in the social sciences and humanities. In an accessible and concise format, the book ranges from classical intellectual traditions of symbolic interactionism, psychoanalysis and Foucauldian theory, through feminism and postfeminism, to postmodernism and the mobilities paradigm.

With characteristic verve and clarity, Anthony Elliott explores the relationship between power, identity and personhood, connecting varied theoretical debates directly to matters of contemporary relevance and urgency, such as identity politics, the sociology of personal relationships and intimacy, and the politics of sexuality. This edition also includes a new chapter on the digital revolution, which situates the self and work/life transformations within the context of AI, Industry 4.0, advanced robotics and accelerating automation.   
 
Offering thoughtful entry points to a rich and complex literature, along with robust critical responses to each theory, Concepts of the Self will continue to be an invaluable text for students of social and political theory, sociology, social psychology, cultural studies, and gender studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509538805
Publisher:	Polity Press
Publication date:	08/03/2020
Series:	Key Concepts
Edition description:	4th ed.
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Anthony Elliott is Executive Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the University of South Australia, where he is Research Professor of Sociology and Dean of External Engagement. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. His recent books include Reinvention, Identity Troubles and The Culture of AI.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

The Arts of Self 7

Concepts of the Self 12

The Structure of the Book 22

1 Self, Society and Everyday Life 26

Self, Symbols and Others: Symbolic Interactionism 28

Presentations of Self: Goffman 35

Reflexivity and the Self: Giddens 42

2 The Repression of Self 51

Psychoanalysis and the Self 54

Culture and Repression 70

3 Technologies of the Self 84

Technologies of the Self: Foucault 87

Governmentality: New Technologies, New Selves 102

4 Self, Sexuality and Gender 110

Feminism and Psychoanalysis: Two Recent Views 110

The Politics of Gender Performance: Butler 122

Queer Theory: Contesting Self, Defying Gender 127

5 The Postmodern Self 136

All that is Modern Melts into Postmodern? 137

Strategies of the Self: Modern and Postmodern 147

6 The Algorithmic Self 154

The Brave New World of AI 156

Chatbots, Talk and the Self 160

Algorithmic Surveillance and the Self 167

7 The Individualized Self: From Reinvention to Mobile Lives 175

Individualization of the Self 177

Self-Reinvention: The New Individualism 184

The Mobile Self 190

Conclusion 197

Inner Depth, or Inside Out 197

Identity Politics, or Critique of Self 201

Afterword: Global Identities, the Rise of Anti-Self Theories and New Horizons 204

Index 210

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“What Anthony Elliot accomplished in the first edition of Concepts was remarkable. Here, a second time around, he does it still again – even better! No-one writing today has the range and depth of Elliott’s understanding of self-theory. He writes with confidence, clarity, and great care of all the prominent concepts of self. No-one I know can write so reliably of the classic theorists in the same concise book as of the newest queer and postmodern ones. No reader, whether student or scholar, will want to be without this brilliant book – a claim certified by the thousands of students who enjoyed the first edition.”

Charles Lemert, Wesleyan University

“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