Studies on the Social Construction of Identity and Authenticity - Paperback

by J. Patrick Williams (Editor), Kaylan C. Schwarz (Editor)

This volume offers readers insight into social constructionist approaches to identity and authenticity. It focuses on the processes of identification and authentication, rather than on subjective experiences of selfhood.

Author Biography

J. Patrick Williams is Associate Professor of Sociology at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has many research publications related to individuals who self-identify as subcultural and is particularly interested in the social construction of subcultural authenticities. He is an associate editor of the journal Deviant Behavior and has authored or edited several books, including Authenticity in Culture, Self and Society (2009) and Subcultural Theory: Traditions and Concepts (2011).

Kaylan C. Schwarz is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University, Canada. Her doctoral thesis project, conducted at the University of Cambridge, examined the ways international volunteers employed notions of "authenticity" within their personal travel narratives, attempted to differentiate themselves from "other" volunteers, and navigated difficult representational choices when communicating their volunteer experiences to a public audience via social media.