Inauthentic: The Anxiety over Culture and Identity

by Vincent John Cheng

Modern and contemporary cultures are increasingly marked by an anxiety over a perceived loss of authentic cultural identity.  In this book, Vincent J. Cheng examines why we still cling to notions of authenticity in an increasingly globalized world that has exploded notions of authentic essences and absolute differences.

Who is “authentic” and who is “other” in a given culture? Who can speak for the “other?” What do we mean by authenticity?  These are critical questions that today’s world––brought closer together and yet pulled farther apart by globalism and neocolonialism––has been unable to answer.  Inauthentic compellingly probes these issues through revealing case studies on the pursuit of authenticity and identity. 

Each chapter explores the ways in which we construct “authenticity” in order to replace seemingly vacated identities, the place of minorities in academia; mixed-race dynamics; the popularity of Irish culture in America; the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland; Jewish American identity; the status of Jewish America in relation to Israel and Palestine; the cultural problems of international adoptions; and the rapidly changing nature of the Asian American population in the United States.

Inauthentic combines the scholarly and the personal, informed argument and human interest.  It will undoubtedly appeal to academic scholars, as well as to a broader reading audience.

Genres: Nonfiction

220 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Dr. Cheng is the Shirley Sutton Thomas Professor of English at the University of Utah. His professional interests include Modern British and American Literature, Colonial and Postcolonial English Literatures, James Joyce, Modern Novel, and Irish Studies. His most recent book is "Inauthentic: The Anxiety over Culture and Identity" (Rutgers University Press, 2004).

Reviews

[Jacob Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant decimation of ideals of authenticity. Professor Cheng shows that rigidly defined identities are the shields with which we attempt to hold out the realities of life: that nothing is absolute, that our identities are multifaceted fabrications, that our ideals are based on nostalgic fantasies that hold us at arm's length from engaging with our own lives and culture.

[Najib Tinsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a general success that I personally loved. From the beginning of reading, it held my attention with its thick plot and provocative topic. It spoke deeply to the issues of identity and culture, introducing insights into which I connected from my own experience. The author addressed masterfully the way our origins shape the individuals that we turn out to be, weaving together individual and collective histories in a way that was informative as well as provocative.

What I particularly appreciated was the way the book dealt with the intricacies of cultural identity; it made me reflect on my own life and the way in which my environment has determined my own identity. There are some parts that some readers might find to be full of unnecessary jargon, but that did not bother me at all. In fact, I found that the complex terminology added a depth to the writing that enhanced my own understanding of the themes underlying even more. Overall, this book was not just a good read; it was also a call to actively think about the world in which we exist and our place within it. I would recommend it be read by anyone seeking to gain an understanding of the intricacies of identity and culture.

[Kaia Ryden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inauthentic: The Anxiety over Culture and Identity by Vincent John Cheng covers a really important topic of culture and the identity that is often so strongly connected to it.

I really liked this book. I think the content is very interesting and I learned a lot from it. The only reason I took a star off was that the author's writing style made it harder for me to read. Not to say that Cheng is a bad writer, far from it, but his writing style just isn't my cup of tea (but it may be yours!).

I appreciate how Cheng made it easy to see this "anxiety over culture" in my real life, cementing his argument even more.
I think it is a good read and I definitely recommend it to people thinking of reading!

[Chao Xiong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Vincent J. Cheng argues that there is an increasing obsession in society with “authenticity” and asks why does society still fret over this in the 20th-century. Cheng provides his perspective of the changeability of identity and answers why people are so anxious to find their authentic culture identities. He does this by dissecting and questioning “what is “Irishness”,” “What is “Jewishness”,” the title “Asian American,” and the stereotypes of “adoptions.” He emphasizes that racial categories are created by society and the government; and, that labels such as “Chinese,” “Jewish,” “African American,” etc. do not have real inherent meanings. Instead the focus should be put on real life experiences.

The central thread tying all the case studies together is the idea of “losing the subject.” Society will not take out “specific cultural, racial, ethnic, and national identities” because they are afraid to render themselves as “non-distinctive and thus inauthentic.” People want to make some sort of statement about their authenticity and therefore uses cultural statements as a clutch. Cheng states that the idea of courses teaching Irish step dancing, Chinese calligraphy, and Indian festivals, is because “everyone wants an authentic culture and identity to claim as one’s own genuine self.”

Along with this, the case studies display the processes of searching for an original past based upon cultural authenticity. This process, Cheng emphasizes, only leads to the practices of excluding others who do not fit the criteria. Seeking to find one’s own cultural identity and subjectivity can lead to one culture being much more dominant than the other. In his summary chapter, “Coda” he reanalyzes his thoughts on the various chapters and their significance. He understands that each of the case studies were vastly different but “the real substance, of this study lies in the specific analyses provided in each chapter.”

I thoroughly enjoyed Cheng’s views and perspectives on identifying and clarifying authenticity in our society today. It is apparent that we must identify ourselves with a group or race for social purposes. For example a question frequently asked when I meet someone for the first time is “what’s your ethnicity?” After reading Cheng’s book, I also believe that we should redefine what we believe is authentic and what is popularized. Being authentic should, like Cheng wrote, be our real world experiences. We should not be identified as authentic by our ethnicity.

[Risa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inauthentic: The Anxiety over Culture and Identity by Vincent John Cheng (2004)