Mukomel V.I. Identity metamorphosis: lost in translation. Review on the book «Us and them. Identity metamorphosis in Eastern and Western Europe». Demographic Review, 2019, Vol.6, Issue 4, pp. 183-193.

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://demreview.hse.ru/article/view/10431 (дата обращения 12.02.2020)

Abstract

The book is the collective monograph by researchers from Russia and France, Belarus and Austria, described the identity crisis. There are key problems mentioned in the book such as widespread substitution of the civil content of national identity with its cultural component, the different approach to identity research in the Western and Eastern Europe, the dynamic and unpredictable relationships among different kinds of identity. Research shows that today the main reason of the identity crisis is the construction of national, regional, and ethnic identity by all actors (politicians, journalists, researchers, society). The origin of the problem is in a cognitive dissonance, i.e. the different meaning of words describing identity transformation in Western and Eastern Europe. Such difficulties are mostly external by nature and based on historical background and “lost in translation” conflicts. Scientific community is keen to overcome stereotypes, and to establish a dialogue to find new tools to analyze and develop new epistemologies. The book’s contributors are eager to make a step to overcome such misunderstandings.