Chapter 2 / Communicating Identity

Hello people, thats my student ID card here at Manhattanville College. It shows my name, ID number and says that I am a student. But is this my true Identity? It is only a plastic card that has a picture of my face.

After reading through the chapter, any "scholar" should have a better understanding of what really makes up a person's identity. According to the text, the identity of your self is based on a complex theory of how we communicate with others. Supposedly the theory can be viewed through "Four Lenses of Identity"(Hecht 1993)

 I. Personal

II. Enactment

IIIRelationship                                                               

IV. Communal

The personal aspect basically means that we perceive ourselves to have certain attributes and characteristics that other people don't see. Almost like a picture that we take of ourselves but you are the only one that looks at it.

The enactment frame can be viewed by how we communicate with others. The way we relate and reflect to other people determines who you are. In a nut shell, if your shy, outgoing, funny, you smell good, etc... all of that influences how people view you. For example, if you know a social group that view you through a glass of being funny, handsome, and charming...and they tell you that you possess these characteristics..That social group has identified a part of YOU!

The relationship lense tells us that our identities are based on what kind of relationships we possess, and how we manage those relationships reflects a part of your self. For example, we act accordingly whether your with your girlfriend, parents, siblings, friends. I know for sure that I am looked at differently according to those small social groups. The different views of relationships are small factors of identity.

The communal frame says that our identities tie to our cultural, and environmental backround. Different norms and values make up a persons identity as well. For example, being part of the baseball team here at Manhattanville ingrains a characteristic about my self that other people see and judge. Whether you are aware of it or not, if people say that I am a stereotypical jock or athlete, maybe I am.......

 Even so..Its still all in theory.........

Since we are in theory, Im going to say that those Four Lenses of Identity can now be defined as a puzzle containing a limited (theres only four) amount of pieces made perfectly to scale, that give us an infinite (every one is different and unique) amount of characteristics to apply to any given person's identity......Fair enough I guess....

The chapter goes off on outlining factors that also relate to identity. But this theory right here to me is the basis for it. The text it self is very broad in the aspect of providing a lot of content. Some of which is still all in theory.

As long as I stay focused on the key content in the text, even for upcoming chapters I'll still have "BLOGZ 4 DAYS"--- Stephen Candal