Exploring Personal and Cultural Identity

“Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.”     

-Rainer Maria Rilke

Our personal identity is a combination of circumstances we were born into and  choices we make.  The inherited dimensions of identity usually remain somewhat stable throughout our life. These pre-determined elements often include the era we were born into, culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, history and colonialism, gender roles, economic realities, first languages and nationality.   Other parts of our identities are created through our personal choices, but these are also usually influenced by our family, economic situations, education, opportunities and cultural values. Some of the identities we choose might include our interests, educational focus, career choices, travel, creative pursuits, friendships, romantic partners, whether we have children and our community roles.  In today’s globalized world, media and popular culture also play a massive role in shaping visions of what is possible, and many people today are exploring identities that are very different from those of their parents and ancestors.  The learning activities in this section of the book provide foundations for examining the complex interactions between our inherited and constructed identities.