Chapter 6: Ourselves: myself, yourself

In this chapter, we explore the concept of the ‘self’. Many people talk about the ‘self’ by referring to the idea that we are all ‘individuals’. Where does this idea come from? We look at both old and new stories about the self. How does the idea that we are all individuals relate to the sociological idea that we are whatever society makes us? We look at the way many sociologists have explained how the self comes into being using the idea of socialisation, and outline some problems with the traditional model of socialisation. We suggest that by turning this into a question of identity, we can better understand the idea that our ‘self’ has both an inner and an external quality.

Further reading

Making Groups Work: Rethinking Practice
by Joan Benjamin, Judith Bessant & Rob Watts
(Click on the title for more information)
Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1997, pp. 17-38.
Download excerpt (PDF)

Rethinking Youth
Johanna Wyn & Rob White
(Click on the title for more information)
Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1997, pp. 8-25.
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‘Mistaken identity’ by Wendy Holland,
The Teeth are Smiling: The Persistence of Racism in Multicultural Australia
edited by Ellie Vasta & Stephen Castles
(Click on the title for more information)
Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1996, pp. 97-111.
Download excerpt (PDF)

Australian Childhood: A History
by Jan Kociumbas
(Click on the title for more information)
Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1997, pp. xi-xvii.
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Useful links

Theory.org.uk Identity Resources
http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-iden.htm

Electronic Journal of Sociology: Becoming a Man
http://www.sociology.org/content/vol7.3/02_crawford.html