Week 2

I had still not been told weather i can attend uni at this point so i missed this class, but i did the readings for this week and provided a precis.

This week the reading i focused on is Anthony Elliot's 'Concepts of the Self'

In Anthony Elliot's 'Concepts of the Self' he gives the reader a short introduction into a character named 'Rhonda' who is our focus example of how the world in which she (and we) live is ever evolving through the use of technology and beckoning cultural shifts visualized throught something as arbitrary as a morning routine.
He then talks about the various ways in which we conceive our idea of what the 'self' are, being neighbors in the same global village, people are largely influenced by similar things that over time become attributed to our own sense of self as well as how this is interlinked in the academic world and also how it's impact is displayed on a sociological level.
He informs the reader that his concept of 'self' has been a topic of study and debate by philosophers, sociologists and psychologists worldwide across various cultures. Elliot describes that our sense of self crosses many boundaries in our life's, even including with the clothes we wear 'identity is sold as a means for personal happiness and freedom. From the Nike culture of just-do-it to the micro made-to-measure world of iPods, selfhood is advertised, televised and talked about as the principal means for both joining and enjoying the modern world' (Elliot, 2007, pp.4).
He also talks about the term 'Agency', a term used by sociologists to describe how much power and subsequent interest a person takes in controlling their own identity, why and how we take action to create our own persona in a cultural and sociological context.

Elliott, Anthony. (2007) Concepts of the Self, Cambridge: Polity.