Theorizing Collective Identity

摘要

The essay rejects the idea that 'collective identity' and 'cultural identity' are necessarily the same. Its aim is to preserve the usefulness of the former notion, by introducing 'the integrative circle of collective identity' as a terminological toolbox. This diagrammatic formula may help us find a common terminological language with which to handle the multitude of concrete variations on the theme of the collective in literary works. The second half of the paper demonstrates the theory in E. L. Doctorow's World's Fair and Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony by focusing on their representation of ceremony and ritual. Although the textual analysis cannot take up all the implications of the model, it hopes to propose a new and fruitful form of analysis. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.