Is there a Place for Identity in a Globalized World? An Exploration of Zygmunt Bauman’s

Abstract

Zygmunt Bauman's discourse on 'liquid modernity' is associated with the transformations of the project of Western modernity in general, and the liquefaction of frames of reference and inherited identities in particular. This disourse assumes that the processes of liquefaction were meant to create more solid and more rational frames of references, yet these processes no longer care about the creation of alternative frames of reference, thus throwing identity into a permanent and comprehensive state of liquidity. This paper assumes that Bauman's discourse on liquid modernity goes beyond the strict separation between modernity and postmodernity (or modernity and globalization), stressing instead modernity as a sequence that differs in the degree, intensity, scope and scale of liquefaction. This means that the identity problem is an old one, yet it witnesses a new transformation in its form and content in the era of globalization. The paper seeks to uncover this transformation through an exploration of the most important metaphors in Bauman's discourse on identity. This exploration comes in two main sections: metaphors of identity in solid modernity (pilgrim, gardener and hero), and metaphors of identity in liquid modernity (player, tourist and vagabond).