Situating Identities: Enacting and Studying Europe at a Russian Elite University
Journal
Millennium: Journal of International Studies
ISSN
0305-8298
ISSN-Digital
1477-9021
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2008-08-01
Author(s)
Mueller, Martin
Abstract
The majority of studies on identity in the discipline of International
Relations have analysed identities from an analytical perspective of
distance; they elide the fact that identities are situated productions
which unfold in specifi c contexts and through different forms of signifi
cation. In this article, I seek to work towards greater attentiveness to
the situatedness of identities. I propose a reconsideration of the concept of discourse for situating identities and argue that ethnography
can be a useful methodology for analysing the discursive construction
of identities in micro-settings. This conceptual argument is illustrated
by drawing on data from ethnographic research within Moscow State
Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), a Russian elite university.
I analyse how identifi cation with Europe shifts across multiple
contexts as it is enacted in everyday life and represented in the multiple processes of studying international relations at this educational
institution. Foregrounding the situatedness of identities in this way
brings their ambiguities and instabilities into view, while cautioning
against an all-too-easy universalization in identity research.
Relations have analysed identities from an analytical perspective of
distance; they elide the fact that identities are situated productions
which unfold in specifi c contexts and through different forms of signifi
cation. In this article, I seek to work towards greater attentiveness to
the situatedness of identities. I propose a reconsideration of the concept of discourse for situating identities and argue that ethnography
can be a useful methodology for analysing the discursive construction
of identities in micro-settings. This conceptual argument is illustrated
by drawing on data from ethnographic research within Moscow State
Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), a Russian elite university.
I analyse how identifi cation with Europe shifts across multiple
contexts as it is enacted in everyday life and represented in the multiple processes of studying international relations at this educational
institution. Foregrounding the situatedness of identities in this way
brings their ambiguities and instabilities into view, while cautioning
against an all-too-easy universalization in identity research.
Language
English
Keywords
discourse
ethnography
Europe
identity
poststructuralism
Russia
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Millennium Publ. Group
Publisher place
London
Volume
37
Number
1
Start page
3
End page
25
Pages
23
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
55833
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Müller_2008_Situating identities_Enacting and studying Europe at a Russian elite university_Millennium.pdf
Size
174.42 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
f1b0e84adeaf98d4034ea6f2b0e418ed