Identity Formation and Context

Introduction to Identity Formation

According to Stuart Halls’ definition of cultural identity and identity formation, identity formation involves the development of definite and distinct personality of a person. The full process of identity formation requires that the individual subject to individuality formation persist on defining himself within the given entity of perception. The person grows and develops to have a distinct feature or personality of individuality that others in the society can use to define that particular person (Hvalvik & Sandnes 2014, p 23). The products of expressing identity in an individual include sense of uniqueness, sense of continuity and sense of affiliation. The factors that define the identity or help in the development of identity of a person include culture, historical facts about a group of people or an individual, politics, and other social factors like classes of people in the society.

According to Okolie (2003), the process of identity formation often come a long with a number of issues  of personal identity and the ability to be identified to comprehend an identity of a given group of people in a given society. The identity that an individual owns often in many instances reflects on the group identity of a given people in the society or a different one. This will then count on the influences of culture or politics or any social issues that unites the people and be identified with the identified features in their lives. The factors that relate to the social lifestyles and factors that influence positioning of h and ideas define the identity of a people or an individual in the society. Some of these factors include race, ethnicity, politics, language, history and class. The social and especially the cultural outputs of a people define even their communication spheres. This links to the possibility that given groups of people of certain cultural, ethnic, political, race or class do not quite often infringe them from interacting with others from different cultures, ethnicities, races, political worldviews and classes in the community (Isurin 2011, p 8).

Identity Context

The context of identity rests on the defining factors that help in identity formation. These factors keep on changing and consequent to that the identity of a group of people or an individual keeps on changing (CôTé & Levine 2002, p 28). The variations in the political positions exclude one from being recognized to belong to a certain specific group to which he had been classified before. The same happens to identities based on other social factors like class. The positioning of identity in a social setting often change as the cultural expositions do change as well. In the situation that the person or group of people get exposed to different culture or move to a multicultural society then the identity of the people or person will change automatically (Fong & Chuang 2004, p 7).

Identity and Communication

Identity influences the form and extents of communication in the society. The cultural and other social factors in the society affect the rates and levels at which people interact through communication. The issues that people address at different cultural levels differ from what others may want to address in other region of different cultures in different regions (González & Tanno 2007, p 15). The identity of a people determines their capability to interact with others from other cultures and social set ups. The factors of identity that draw from the politics, class, history and the culture of the people define and influence communication in the society (Williams 2007, 32). These factors define the issues that people at different cultural and social circumstances and class talk about and would like to resolve. The differences in cases influence the interaction and communication ability of a given group of people (Okolie 2003, p 28).

With reference to Fong & Chuang (2004), communication comes because of interaction within or between different people within or beyond a given cultural or class of people. The differences in ideologies within a given philosophy affect and define the extents and possible value that communication between the two different groups of people can undergo. Communication therefore is influenced by the identity of the people involved in the interaction process. The levels of understanding of people differ and the disparities link to the differences in the ideological positions and the cultures (CôTé & Levine 2002, p 31). The culture of an individual will define the language he speaks and it is through language that different concepts, understood and internalized within the group of people or a given identified society. The changes in the political ideologies and joining of different social organizations changes their identity and social classing as well. These factors define and influence the contexts in which an individual get classified and identified in a society (Williams 2007, 54).

Cultural Identity

Cultural Identity involves the recognition of different characters in an individual as the customs; practices, language, philosophies and values implicate and define the social group that the individual hails from. A number of social factors in the society influence all the aspects of identity within the cultural outputs. Culture identity is ever changing due to the changes in the social factors in the surrounding. Cultural identity influences the way people relate to others within social settings. Cultural identities are unstable points of identification following the influence of politics and other social factors (Hall 2004, p 10). The identities vary as cultures diversify within a given social setting. Politics, histories and cultural diversities and multiculturalism influence identities of people within the given social settings (Morris 2005, p 36).

According to Hall (2004), cultural identity relates to the cultural aspects and components that define culture and the identity of the people. Cultural identity exists in the form of ethnic or racial classes that express a given culture. The culture defines the language and ethnic understanding, beliefs and social organizations. The social organizations relate to the political affiliations of given people that define their thoughts and beliefs. The ethnicity of a people defines the culture and possible beliefs that the people value. Such beliefs create a difference with other cultures in the world and thus a communication barrier or difficulty (Hall 2004, p12).

On another point of view, cultural identity will reflect on the political ideologies and classes of people in the society. This relates to the fact that different people living together and sharing same beliefs, ancestral origin and color of the skin, have the same political ideology. The political themes and slogans often stand to support the people of that given society, therefore political slogans and resolutions will reflect on the people who support the philosophy under such political lines of thoughts (Hvalvik & Sandnes 2014, p 36). This can as well link to the national identity of a certain people in the globe. A certain nation can be identified to stand for a given philosophical or political view point while others are generally identified to oppose the same viewpoint. Politics and culture are factors that aide in identifying a big group that supports given ideologies in the global context (Lambert & Nicholson 2012, p 63).

Politics and Identity

Political inspirations and ideologies have been used in the recent past to influence the identities of given people or group of people. The arguments relate to the ideas and interests that people put forth in order to make identification to certain groups of people within the society. In many instances, political identification have influenced the way people are considered and viewed within the political spheres as a means to classify them (Hall 2004, p 17). Social organizations in these societies provide the platforms for political identification in the society. Social organizations of people are used to classify and identify them in relation to what activities they undertake in such organizations. The ways of lives of a given group of people within a society describes the political ideologies that the peo.............