Identity and Difference

Course Features

• Selected lecture notes

Course Description

This course explores how identities, whether of individuals or groups, are produced, maintained, and transformed. Students will be introduced to various theoretical perspectives that deal with identity formation, including constructions of "the normal." We will explore the utility of these perspectives for understanding identity components such as gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, language, social class, and bodily difference. By semester's end students will understand better how an individual can be at once cause and consequence of society, a unique agent of social action as well as a social product.

Other OCW Versions

Archived versions:

• 21A.218J Identity and Difference (Fall 2002)

Course Collections

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Find Courses by Topic

• Anthropology > Social Anthropology
• Anthropology > Cultural Anthropology
• Gender Studies
• Anthropology > Ethnography