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Circumstantialist Concept Of The Self

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Ethnicity is the notion that connects all individuals to their ancestral identity where there is a shared concept of culture, gender, class, race, family, and organization. Through these shared concepts, an identity is formed but it can also be changed or further developed when exposed to a new society or through globalization. This will be explored through the concepts of the self, education, globalizations, and subjectivity.

The classical psychological understanding of the self which we know as the psychodynamic approach present us with Freud’s ideas of the conscious, preconscious and unconscious state of the self. The consciousness is the surface of Freud’s mental model which consists of what can be perceived in the mind or in the social …show more content…

The focus of the circumstantialism approach is not of the ethnic groups that are involved but more on the external circumstances and conditions that shape ethnic identities. The circumstantialist account argues that people emphasize their ethnicity when it is advantageous (Verkuyten 2005/2012: 84-85).
The primordialism approach emphasizes the emotional and imperative nature of ethnicity and has a focus on the sense of ethnic identity within the internal dimensions (Verkuyten 2005/2012: 86). It argues that ethnicity is often something meaningful and the ethnic actors tend to perceive themselves and the world through a primordial lens (Verkuyten 2005/2012: …show more content…

The caste system in the Hindu societies is one of the problems that some children may face when it comes to social, cultural and educational positions. The lower caste children do not have as many possibilities as the higher caste children due to the fact that society neglects them this chance. The society and the educational system fails them due to their societal position and the identity of the children become one that is shaped by the caste system and the minimal opportunities that they are entitled to. An example of this is seen in Carney’s and Madsen 's ethnography (Carney and Madsen.2009: 178-178) with the boy Santosh who is hiding his original caste status in order to be accepted in society. He is trying to gain a new identity through knowledge and in this order to survive the societal discrimination regarding his low-caste origins. He dreams of a future as a doctor, although considering his situation and his ethnicity, he is more likely to end up quitting school when there are no economical sources to support him and fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor, instead his survival instinct becomes one of the major issues in his life. The school for Santosh is more comfortable than the reality and judgments of the society, and he turns towards the school for the feeling of belonging and existence as an individual (Carney and

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