FIXED IDENTITIES IN A MOBILE WORLD? THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOBILITY, PLACE, AND IDENTITY

Abstract

Starting from the premise that mobility is a fundamental social issue, this article addresses the impact of mobility and place on identity. Three major schools of thought addressing this issue are examined: the socio-historical approach of Giddens (1991) Giddens, Anthony. 1991. Modernity of Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Cambridge, , UK: Polity Press. [Google Scholar] and Bauman (1997 Bauman, Zygmunt. 1997. Life in Fragments: Essays in Postmodern Morality, Oxford, , UK: Blackwell. [Google Scholar], 2001 Bauman, Zygmunt. 2001. The Individualised Society, Cambridge, , UK: Polity Press. [Google Scholar]) that describes a shift over the last century from place-based (prescribed) identities to mobile (achieved) identities; recent theories in sociology that see identity as mobile, dynamic, hybrid, and relational; and recent theories in geography that consider the relationship between place and identity. With reference to my own research into the migration experiences of a group of young adults in Australia, I argue that both mobility and place are essential components of identity construction and discuss the complex inter-relationships between mobility, place, and identity.