After Identity

by Jonathan Rutherford

Returning to a theme on which the author has written widely, this volume focuses on identity as the means by which individuals struggle to give themselves meaning and representation and analyzes its historic struggles, in particular those against racism, misogyny, and homophobia. Through a series of essays—on individuality, race and asylum, identity and history, masculinity and war, ecological ethics, and ageing—the book explores some of the ethical resources that might help an engagement with the current predicaments of identity. The author argues that society needs a better account of how to define human beings and of the changing dynamic between individuality and society, through which identities are made and remade.

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Jonathan Andrew Rutherford is an academic who was formerly a Professor of Cultural Studies at Middlesex University. Within English politics, Rutherford is associated with the Blue Labour school of thought within the Labour Party, and has been described as one of its "leading thinkers". He was the editor of Soundings from 2004 to 2012.

Reviews

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an enormous fan of Jonathan Rutherford. He is one of the key scholars in my life. He changed how I thought about the world. Somehow, I missed After Identity, which he published in 2007.

This is a tremendous book. Theoretically rigorous, considered and exploratory, Rutherford is prescient. He probes climate change and the deep and dense consequences of neoliberalism before the financial crisis.

This is a fabulous book and a superb meta-analysis of identity theory. Jonathan Rutherford reminds all scholars what we can do and what we can be.