Identity

In a broad sense, "identity" refers to who one is. In all likelihood, philosophers and theorists (and, more lately, psychologists and sociologists) have been examining the nature of identity since those disciplines themselves came into being, one of the most famous attempts to define identity being Descartes's "I think, therefore I am," which can be read as grounding identity in individual consciousness. More modern times have seen a move away from viewing identity as springing only from the individual. It is generally accepted that while one's identity may be unique, it is not constructed in isolation, but rather within a constantly evolving "conversation" of ideas and influences from within and without. Bakhtin's theories of dialogic relationships, in which each utterance is, at least in part, crafted from those that came before and in response to them, can be applied to identity formation: as "all our utterances [...are] filled with others' words, varying degrees of otherness or varying degrees of 'our-own-ness'" (Bakhtin 89), so to are we filled with and influenced by the thoughts and words of others.
 * A Sketch of Identity:**

Similarly, Vygotsky's theories show the influence of the other on identity. As Bazerman writes in his examination of Vygotsky, "by learning the culturally and historically formed language spoken by those around us our consciousness is formed. [...] In this way our consciousness and behavior are formed in relation to the utterances that surround us and to which we respond in interaction" (56).

While language is central to Bakhtin and Vygotsky, it is possible to apply their theories to the cultural and non-verbal interactions we have with others in a community. (I think this is fair to both theorists.) It is through our interactions with others that we define ourselves--sometimes consciously, but oftentimes unconsciously. Just as speech (or "utterance") presupposes an other, so does identity. Like words, we are defined by the similarities and differences between us.

One implication of the above is that identity is not static, but ever-changing, ever in flux. Some recent scholarship, such as that by Donna LeCourt, builds on this idea of identity as not only changeable, but as performance. LeCourt argues that we perform different versions of ourselves, consciously and unconsciously highlighting aspects of ourselves that fit our rhetorical purposes. As a case in point, she describes working-class students who learn to "perform" middle-class identities to interact productively within the academic community.

Classification, Community, Intertextuality, Heteroglossia
 * Related Concepts:**

Bakhtin, Mikhail. "The Problem of Speech Genres." //Speech Genres and Other Late Essays//. Ed. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1986. 67-100. Print.
 * References:**

Bazerman, Charles. "Intertextualities: Volosinov, Bakhtin, Literary Theory, and Literacy Studies." //Bakhtinian Perspectives on Language, Literacy, and Learning//. Ed. Arnetha Ball and Sarah Warshauer Freedman. Cambridge: CUP, 2004. 53-65. Print.

LeCourt, Donna. "Performing Working-Class Identity in Composition: Toward a Pedagogy of Textual Practice." //College English// 69.1 (2006): 30-51. Print.