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IdentityintheMulticulturalWorld
makeinthesupermarketofculture”(Mathews2005:36).Identityisnotaready
construct,butitbecomesoneinacertainmomentandsocialspace.Similarly,
AnthonyGiddensclaims:u[…]theidentityoftheunitisnotsimplysomething
givenasaresultofthecontinuityofhislheractions,butsomethingthatmust
beroutinelyproducedandmaintainedbyareflexivelyworkingunit”(Giddens
2001:74).Soidentityisnotgivenonceandforall,butitchangesduringthe
stagesoflifeofanindividual.Teclaimisofparticularimportanceinthemod-
ernworld,whenglobalprocessesrapidlytransformoursocio-culturalreality.
Tisrealityańectstheshapeofidentityoftheindividualslivinginitsspace,
whomakedecisionstakingintoconsiderationelementsoftheoutsideworld
bymodifyingtheirownidentity.Identityofanindividualisnotpermanently
connectedtohislhersocialidentitywhichrefers,interalia,tothecollectivecon-
sciousnessofEmiledurkheim,beingaconstitutiveelementofsocietyasasui
generisreality.durkheimwrote:uWepostulatesocietyspecificallydistinctfrom
individuals,sinceotherwisemoralitybecomesirrelevantandtheobligationhas
nopointofreference”(Szacki1964:62).Teconceptofsocialidentitydoesnot
reducestraighttoone)sinnersocialactor,althoughitissometimesunderstood
asmultipliedindividualidentitybasedoncommon,orsimilartoallormostof
theactors,systemsofvalues,norms,customs,traditions,language,economy,or
specificterritory.Toputitsuccinctly:u[…]Socialidentitymeansexperiencing
andassimilatingtraditionsandthepresent,anddefiningfuturecommonfora
givengroup”(Jałowiecki,Szczepański,Gorzelak2007:212).Teidentityofthe
unitandthesocialonearenotseparateentities,buttheyareintertwinedwith
eachotherinvariousaspects.Peopleseethemselvesthroughsocialfeaturessuch
asinvolvementinsocialandculturalstructures,whichconfirmtheidentityof
theunitinitscurrentform.Changingthestructureforcesthetransformationof
identity.Tisisimportantfromthepointofviewofthepresent,whichempha-
sisesthecontinuityofchangesandmodificationofindividualidentity,resulting
fromtheunitsenteringthediscoursewiththeconstantlychangingsocialreality.
Tisunderstandingofidentityiscompletelydińerentfromthetraditionalap-
proach,whichglorifiedstabilityofrelationshipsandattachmenttoaparticular
placebothinverticalandhorizontalterms.Tatrealitywascharacterisedbythe
ideaofthestatusquo,whichwaslargelyattributedtotheindividualidentity.
Fluidityoftheworldatthebeginningofthe21stcenturyforcesaresearcherto
considerthequestionsofidentificationandself-identification.Werecognisethe
problemofmultidimensionalidentityofasocialactorasaresultofacquisition
ofelementsofdińerentcultures,whichconstitutethesocialspaceoftheunit.
Teidentityoftheindividualiscreatedinthesocialspace,butthereisnoclear
andconsistentlyenforcedidentityconstructwhichwouldbeacceptedbyindi-
vidualsbelongingtothesocialspace.Inthepast,as,amongothers,bronisław
Malinowski(1980)orClaudeLévi-Strauss(2009)pointedout,aprincipleofrec-
iprocitydominated,thatis,theruleofsymmetryofbenefits.Self-identification
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