Our Group

IdentiCat defines itself as an interdisciplinary group of sociologists, social psychologists, historians, and specialists in literature and cultural studies. The members share an interest in contemporary processes of identity construction and the articulation of subjectivities, with a predominant focus on Catalan identity. We explore how contemporary globalisation —characterised by growing mobility, outsourcing economy, consumerism, and the creation of digital networks— brings about profound changes in the way people and institutions articulate a sense of belonging to society and institutions, and transforms the ways in which people construct their subjectivities through art, literature, film, and other forms of expression.

We are interested in the relationship between the psychic and the social, that is to say, the ways in which phenomena associated with subjectivity (desire, the body, identity) interact productively and often in conflicting ways with sociality, the institutional dynamics of culture (such as canon construction or the uses of the past), collective phenomena such as the nation, and with mechanisms of social stratification such as taste. Linguistic practices, literary works, visual culture, and all forms of discourse are our conventional sources of data, analysis, and documentation. National identities are an important object of study for us, both in their contemporary manifestations and in their historical evolution, and always in relation to other main axes of social categorisation and organisation of subjectivity, such as class, gender, sexuality, age, race, religion, or disability. In this context, we consider gender and sexuality as key dimensions in the production of new subjectivities in contemporary life.

IdentiCat is also a space for reflection, intellectual exchange, and academic support. We encourage interdisciplinary work among our members through seminars, discussions of theoretical texts, and other activities. It is also a space for doctoral and postdoctoral training: we currently supervise the Ph.D dissertations of several students on topics of sociolinguistics, contemporary literature, and cultural studies.