Identity [electronic resource] : a very short introduction / Florian Coulmas.

The concept of identity is one which has become embedded in our modern lives. From our racial, social, or gender identities, to the identity of the killer, the suspicious powder, an emerging nation, or the leading political party, 'identity' means different things in different contexts. In this Very Short Introduction Florian Coulmas provides a survey of the many faces of the concept of identity, and discusses its significance and varied meanings. Tracing our concern with identity to its deep roots in Europe's intellectual history, individualism, and the felt need to draw borderlines, Coulmas identifies the most important features used to mark off individual and colletive identities, and demonstrates why they are deemed important.