On the misrecognition of identity:Muslims’ everyday experiences in Scotland

Political theory is interested in the misrecognition of identity because it impacts individuals' autonomy in their self-definition and thus their ability to articulate and pursue identity-related interests. Here, we explore minority group members' experiences of being seen in terms that do not accord with their self-definition. Our data are qualitative, gathered through walking interviews with 24 Muslims in Scotland. Focusing on interactions in which they reported discrepancies between how they and others saw them, we differentiate four forms of misrecognition: (1) having the meaning of a valued identity (i.e., one's Muslim identity) defined by others in ways that one judges inaccurate and inappropriate; (2) having one's membership of a valued community (e.g., as a member of Scottish society) denied or rejected; (3) having one's identity (i.e., one's Muslim identity) overlooked such that one's distinctive identity-related needs are not taken into account; (4) being seen in terms of just one of one's many social identities (i.e., one's Muslim identity) such that other identities (judged more situationally relevant) are ignored. This empirically grounded typology contributes to wider debates about the forms of identity (mis)recognition and their political implications.</p

Adolescent reading skill and engagement with digital and traditional literacies as predictors of reading comprehension

This study investigates the concurrent predictors of adolescent reading comprehension (literal, inferential) for fiction and non-fiction texts. Predictors were examined from the cognitive (word identification, reading fluency), psychological (gender), and ecological (print exposure) domains. Print exposure to traditional and digital texts was surveyed using a diary method of reading habits. A cross-sectional sample of 312 students in early (11–13 years) or middle adolescence (14–15 years) participated from a range of SES backgrounds. Word identification emerged as a strong predictor of reading comprehension across adolescence and text genres. Gender effects favouring female students were evident for reading frequency but not for reading skill itself. Reading habits also differed, and comprehension advantages were observed among females for fiction and males for non-fiction. Age effects emerged for reading frequency, which was lower in middle adolescence. Although more time was spent on digital than on traditional texts, traditional extended text reading was the only reading habit to predict inference-making in comprehension and to distinguish skilled from less skilled comprehenders. The theoretical and educational implications of these results are discussed

SCOPE New Photographic Practices

The photographic practices brought together for this exhibition and publication provide a broad scope of how photographic and lens based media may be used in order to have a visceral and conceptual impact. The methods on show demonstrate the way that artists might pick and choose from the approaches, processes and debates that have arisen through the medium’s history. This collection of work features film, video and photography that demand a renegotiation of the relationship between camera, subject and viewer. Visual Art Centre Gallery, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Chin

Ethnic identity concealment and disclosure:Contexts and strategies

Acknowledgements: This research was made possible by a University of Dundee PhD studentship awarded to the first author. Ethnic minority group members’ responses to their prejudicial treatment can take several forms. One involves identity concealment (e.g., ‘passing’). In order to understand such a response, we must explore participants’ understandings of the interactional context before them, their meta-perceptions of the identity others ascribe to them, and the varied meanings that identity concealment/non-disclosure may have in that context. Our analysis of interview data (N = 30) obtained with Roma in Hungary reveals diverse forms of, and motivations for, the concealment of their Roma identity. Some participants reported examples of proactive identity concealment, others reported more reactive forms (in which they went along with others’ mistaken assumptions concerning their identity). The motivations for identity concealment (whether proactive or reactive) included the desire to: secure material benefits; avoid conflict; take pleasure from seeing others’ assumptions blinding them to the reality before them; test (and expose) majority group members’ attitudes; allow themselves opportunities to experience the world in new ways. Our analysis highlights the importance of social identity researchers recognizing the diverse motivations for ethnic identity concealment: From the actors’ perspective concealment is not always assimilatory, and in some contexts can be experienced as empowering

Social identity enactment in a pandemic:Scottish Muslims’ experiences of restricted access to communal spaces

This research was made possible by a grant (‘Misrecognising Minorities in Europe’) from the Volkswagen Foundation, Germany.The comprehensive analysis of social identity cannot simply focus on individuals’ cognitive self-definition. Rather it should also theorise the social conditions that affect individuals’ opportunities to act in terms of those self-definitions. We argue that the social distancing interventions associated with Covid-19 provide an opportunity to explore the significance of otherwise taken-for-granted social factors which routinely support and sustain individuals’ identity enactments. Using qualitative data gathered with 20 members of the Scottish Muslim community (19 diary entries and 20 post-diary interviews), we explore their experiences of restricted access to community-relevant social spaces (e.g., mosques and prayer rooms). Our analysis shows that whilst these regulations could result in new opportunities for Muslims’ religious identity enactments, they also impeded their abilities to act in terms of their religious identification. Addressing such impediments, we develop our understanding of the contextual factors that impact individuals’ abilities to enact identity-defining norms and values.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Articles from and inspired by the fifth International Conference on Social Identity and Health

The 5th International Conference on Social Identity and Health (ICSIH 5) was hosted at Nottingham Trent University, UK on 23rd–24th June 2022. Taking place every 2 years, the aim of ICSIH is to showcase the latest research on the Social Identity Approach to Health (SIAH; Haslam, Jetten, Cruwys, Dingle, &amp; Haslam, 2018) to an international audience. This new paradigm within Social Psychology, often referred to as the ‘Social Cure’, (e.g., Jetten, Haslam, &amp; Alexander, 2012), articulates the myriad ways in which group memberships—and their associated social identities—impact on health and well-being. Alongside growing academic interest and engagement, Social Cure insights are increasingly being adopted in clinical, health, sport and organisational settings. ICSIH 5 built on the success of the previous ICSIH conferences held in Exeter, United Kingdom (2012), Ottawa, Canada (2014), Brisbane, Australia (2016) and Lausanne, Switzerland (2018). Over 120 delegates from across the EU, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia attended—the largest number of delegates in the conference's history.As ICSIH organisers, we were inspired to curate this special issue to showcase the rich and varied range of research presented at the conference, as well as to provide a platform for the work of those who were unable to attend. To this end, we have collected 19 articles which reflect the increasing methodological pluralism in this area, as well as its expanding international reach. This special issue thus represents the diversity of the SIAH research community, as well as capturing areas of methodological and theoretical innovation