Self, identity and globalization in
times of uncertainty:
A dialogical analysis
Hubert J.M. Hermans
Radboud University of Nijmegen
The Netherlands
Dialogical Self
inspired by
James’ American pragmatism
Baktin’s Russian dialogical school
Four notions of the self
Premodern notion
- self defined by a meaningful, hierarchical cosmic order: connectedness
- distinction between mere living on earth and a higher better kind of life
- moral responsibility
Modern notion
- self-contained individualism
- no complicity in language, culture, and community
- self is its own ground: agency
Post-modern notion
- decentering of the self
- self as linguistic construction
- fragmentation and loss of agency
- power relations
Dialogical notion
- Acknowledging the existence of power relations (post-modern), agency (modern) and moral
responsibility (premodern)
Richardson, F.C. et al. (1998): Toward a dialogical self. American Behavioral Scientist, 41 (4),
496-515.
Peter Callero in Annual Review of Sociology (2003)
listed some central self-concepts in psychology:
- self-enhancement
- self-consistency
- self-monitoring
- self-efficacy
- self-regulation
- self-presentation
- self-verification
- self-knowledge
- self-control
- self-handicapping
- self-deception
A modern project?
Callero, P. L. (2003). The sociology of the self. Annual Review of Sociology, 29,
115–133.
Stable and changing:
“ . . . There is a tendency [in mainstream psychology] to focus on
stability, unity, and conformity and de-emphasize the sociological
principles of social construction. The self that is socially constructed
may congeal around a relatively stable set of cultural meanings, but
these meanings can never be permanent or unchanging.” (p. 127)
Singular and multidimensional:
“Similarly, the self that is socially constructed may appear
centered, unified, and singular, but this symbolic structure will be
as multidimensional and diverse as the social relationships that
surround it.” (p. 127)
Relations of power:
“Finally, the self that is socially constructed is never a
bounded quality of the individual or simple
expression of psychological characteristics; it is a
fundamentally social phenomenon, where concepts,
images, and understandings are deeply determined
by relations of power. When these principles are
ignored or rejected, the self is often conceptualized
as a vessel for storing all the particulars of a person”
(p. 127).
The Dialogical Self
A dynamic multiplicity of I-positions in the landscape of
the mind.
As voiced positions they are involved in dialogical
relationships both within and between people.
Dialogical relationships involve both interchange and
relative dominance.
Hermans, H.J.M., & Dimaggio, G. (2004). The dialogical self in psychotherapy. New
York: Brunner & Routledge.
Hermans
Hubert
city
independent business
practical
optimistic
freedom
independence
optimistic
love of nature
pessimistic
Spronck
rural/ farmers
misfortune
sensitive
pessimistic
Different modalities of the word 'I‘ in the Sranon Tongo,
the language of Afro-Surinam people:
Mi
Mi kra
A misi (f'mi)
A masra (f'mi)
Mi misi nanga mi masra
Mi dyodyo
Mi skin
Mi geest
I
My soul, I
My feminine part
My masculine part
My feminine and masculine part
My divine parents
My body, I
My spirit, I
Wekker, G. (1994). Eindelijk kom ik tot mezelf [Finally, I become myself].
In J. Hoogsteder (Red.), Etnocentrisme & Communicatie in de Hulpverlening (pp. 45-60)
Utrecht: Landelijke Federatie van Welzijnsorganisaties voor Surinamers.
OUTSIDE
EXTERNAL
INTERNAL
perfectionist
selfaccepting
avoidant
father
grandfather
accepting therapist
Hermans, H.J.M. (2003). The construction and reconstruction of a dialogical self. Journal of Constructivist
Psychology, 16 (2), 89-130
Temporal extension of the self:
Inclusion of premodern, modern, postmodern elements
Spatial extension of the self:
Transition between Me and Mine (James,
1890):
"not only his body and his psychic powers, but his
clothes and his house, his wife and children, his
ancestors and friends, his reputation and works,
his lands and horses, and yacht and bankaccount" (James, 1890, p. 291).
However . . . . The spatial extension is not
theoretically exhausted: it is intensely connected
with the outside domain of the self . . . Beyond
James’ Mine.
Global systems theorists (e.g., Appadurai, 1990)
Contact zones permit two-way intensification of
communication that runs across the boundaries of many
groups and cultures simultaneously.
On these contact zones global landscapes emerge:
technoscapes, mediascapes, ethnoscapes, finanscapes, and
ideoscapes.
Whereas in traditional homogeneous societies, ideology,
media communication, and technology are to some degree
integrated, they are widely separated and disjunctive in
contemporary society.
Appadurai, A. (1990). Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy.
In M. Featherstone (Ed). Global culture: Nationalism, globalization, and modernity
(pp. 295-310). London: Sage.
ECOSCAPE
IDEOSCAPE
new age pastor
imam-on-line
rabbi
spiritual
religious
meaning
sellers,
advertisers
sponsors
independent
prestige
owner of a
yacht
my facelift
I as bionic
my memory chip
surgeons
technicians
gene therapists
chatter
on-line person
belonging
tv-personalities
sms friends
fluid others
victim
of inflation
bank representatives
financial advisors
IMF
TECHNOSCAPE
FINANSCAPE
MEDIASCAPE
Main aspects of the experience of uncertainty
Complexity: many parts with a variety of relations
Ambiguity: suspension of clarity
Deficit knowledge: absence of a superordinate knowledge
structure
Unpredictability: lack of control of future
developments
Hermans, H.J.M., & Dimaggio, G. (2007). Self, identity, and globalization in times
of uncertainty: A dialogical analysis. Review of General Psychology, 11, 31-61
Global-Local Dialectics
Localization as a counterforce to globalization
(re-appraisal of local traditions; defensive localization)
Globalization as access to different local values,
practices and traditions
Three-level approach as a correction on the selfcontained identity: individual, local, global
Hermans, H.J.M., & Dimaggio, G. (2007). Self, identity, and globalization in
times of uncertainty: A dialogical analysis. Review of General Psychology, 11,
31-61
Glocalization: implications
- Higher density and heterogeneity of positions (e.g., cacophony of
voices in everyday life; avatars in MUD
- Fragmentation
of positions (e.g., Islam boy exposed to Western
sex industry)
- Position leaps: discontinuous change (e.g., cosmetic surgery)
- New
coalitions of positions (e.g., independent and child)
- Change of the nature of dialogues between positions (e.g., more
brief, transient, with anonymous others: intensified ‘’traffic’’ of
positions)
- Reduction of the repertoire to one or a few powerful positions as a
reaction to complexity and uncertainty
Hermans, H.J.M., & Dimaggio, G. (2007). Self, identity, and globalization in times of
uncertainty: A dialogical analysis. Review of General Psychology, 11, 31-61
Essentials Dialogical Self Theory
- acknowledgment of both centrifugal (multivoicedness)
and centripetal forces (the creation of coherence and
unity through dialogue) in a multivoiced, yet substantial
self.
- avoiding
both the risk of the ontological unity of the selfcontained individualism and the risk of fragmentation (with
its neglect of the self as a source of agency).
- ethical
aspect: stimulation of dialogue
between groups and cultures requires the
stimulation of dialogue within the individual
self.
International Conference on the
Dialogical Self
26-29 August 2008
Cambridge, UK
www.dialogicalscience.com