Transcript The Renaissance - Lamont High | Home

Understandings
of Identity
To What Extent are Ideology and
Identity Interrelated?
Question for Inquiry #1
What is the
relationship
between ideology
and my identity?
Question for Inquiry #2
What factors
influence individual
and collective
beliefs and values?
Chapter 1 – Thinking About Identity and Ideologies
Question for Inquiry #3
What themes and
characteristics
should my ideology
include?
2
Personal Identity – is the idea you have
of yourself as a unique individual
Collective Identity – is one that you share
with other people as a member of a larger
social group, such as linguistic, cultural, or
ethnic group
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Factors that may influence individual
and collective beliefs and values
Culture
Religion
Language
Spirituality
Personal
Identity
Media
Gender
Relationship
to land
Chapter 1 – Thinking About Identity and IdeologiesIdeology
Environment
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Family Influence
• What impact does an individual’s family
have on his or her beliefs and values?
• How much influence do you think your
parents’ ideas have had on your own
beliefs and values?
• Is it possible to explain why two individuals
from the same family are often so
different?
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Gender
• Gender and gender roles are important
elements of determining a person’s
identity.
• Social and cultural values influence many
aspects of our lives in terms of what is
acceptable or permissible for each gender
in our society.
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Religion and Spirituality
• The world’s major religions and spiritual
traditions teach moral systems to influence
their actions towards others.
• In this way, people’s beliefs and values
may be shaped in some ways by religious
teachings.
• Spirituality or religion can also provide a
basis upon which an individual may
choose to identify oneself (group ideology).
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Environment
• Concern for the environment has led to an
environmental movement that has
transcended raising social awareness.
• Political parties such as the Green Party
have sought public office to influence the
debate on this issue.
• NGOs such as Greenpeace also raise
awareness about issues and attempt to
influence public opinion, which, in turn, puts
more pressure on politicians to act.
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Relationship to Land
• Different societies have fostered a greater
connection to the earth and its resources.
• Aboriginal people, for example, have a
long relationship to the land and their
cultural and spiritual beliefs are intricately
tied to their association with the earth.
• How we connect to the land and our
experiences with the environment
determine some of our beliefs and values.
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Language and Ideology
• Language is much more than just a means
by which one can communicate within a
collective.
• Linguists and anthropologists also believe
that language has a tremendous impact on
the way people view and understand the
world around them (worldview)
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• Language thus has an impact on our
ideology because our beliefs and values
are formulated through our perceptions of
the world and our place in it.
• Also, being part of a linguistic majority or
linguistic minority shapes elements of
one’s identity.
• Attempts to preserve cultural and linguistic
identity also manifest themselves in
political documents (ie. Charter of Rights)
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Media
• Media such as television and the internet
have a tremendous impact in shaping
people’s understanding of the world.
• The means by which people receive their
information profoundly influences their
understanding of it (Marshall McLuhan).
• Media is also very much subject to
manipulation due to the dominance of a
small group of corporations controlling a
large portion of the world’s media.
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Pluralism – the idea that a variety of
people are free to affirm and promote their
customs, traditions, beliefs, and language
within a society
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Government Shaping Identity
• Canada has embraced the concept of
pluralism, which is manifested in its
adoption of the world’s first Multicultural
Policy (1971).
• Diversity is celebrated in modern
Canadian culture, thus demonstrating a
shift in ideology from early Canadian
immigration policies.
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