Moving the discourse on identities in intercultural communication: Structure, culture, and resignifications

Abstract

In this essay, we seek to provide a focused critique of theories of identity within intercultural communication literature. In addition, we propose ways of revising/extending identity theorizing in the field through the use of alternative communication‐based frameworks or theoretical lenses that give the construct, “identity,”; a more dynamic and multi‐faceted re‐reading; and finally, we offer empirical examples of the use of such alternative frameworks in three brief case studies drawn from the three authors’ individual works. This essay will therefore surface both the structural constraints as well as the subjective re‐creative processes involved in the constructing, construing, performing, and negotiating of identities. Ultimately, we seek to show how the concept, “identity,”; might be engaged more adequately taking into consideration its cultural, historical, and political embeddedness in multiple contexts using the lens of communication.

Key concepts:

• identity negotiation
• identity theory
• intercultural communication
• performativity