Comment : Cultural Identities in Multilocal Spaces : bringing in multiplicity

Abstract

Abstract

en The comment emphasizes upon the trinity of identity, space and connections or relations, referring to the contributions of the special issue. This perspective is used to ask for a concept of culture capturing the relationality of the social. Following the relational approach, any social actor has many identities while moving permanently between many social figurations, as e.g. network theory (White 2008) as a theory of the betweeness points out. Accordingly, a conceptualization of multiplicity of identities is a necessary component of theoretical approaches that catch up with these insights in a general emphasis on multiplicity (e.g. of space). What becomes visible is, that to grasp the multiplicity, fluidity and dynamics as well as the interdependency of identities and spaces (multilocal or else), their relationality must be focused upon. This challenges older disparities like local-global as well. In that sense, relationality is the key to bring identities, spaces and cultures together and integrate them into one concept that is capable of describing and analysing such different experiences represented in this volume.