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Identity Matters: Methodological Travails from Malaysia to Indonesia
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Abstract:
The politics of identity is central to the study of race and ethnicity. This paper considers the utility
of several methodological approaches relevant to making sense of ethnic identity. It details the
contributions of narrative, performative, and dialogical understandings of identity-formation and
the ways in which they intersect and inform one another. The paper further highlights their
application to ethnicity through four case studies in Malaysia and Indonesia. Although analytically
distinct approaches, it is important not to treat the three elements in isolation or separately. A
performative or dialogical approach is only meaningful if the narratives implicit in both are
uncovered and analyzed, while narratives gain greater import if they are regarded as dialogical. As
this paper argues, if triangulated and used in careful combination, they can render a fuller sense of
ethnic identity-formation and its complexities.
Description:
Date:
2023
Authors:
Lian Kwen Fee
Publisher:
Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam
