Social Identity Book

As someone who has studied identity theory mostly within the context of one specific subculture/movement/religion, I found this book an enlightening introduction to this particular discourse in cultural anthropology and sociology. While Jenkins' work confirmed many of my own hunches and conclusions based on my limited fieldwork and discourse analysis, it also opened my eyes to new ways of viewing the relationships between individual and collective identities. It is a fairly easy read for newcomers to relevant fields, referencing supporting studies without elaborating on quantitative data within the text. Jenkins also provides helpful clarifications in terminology - e.g. group, category, institution, organization, individual, person, self - challenging common usages of terms we may take for granted or give little consideration in everyday conversation. In this sense, again, Social Identity is a useful starting point for social theorists, and an eye-opening text for anyone else interested in key concepts in identity theory.

Also, this is only the 3rd book I have read on my Kindle for Mac app, and I'm still getting used to this type of reading. This is the kind of text I would prefer to read on paper, making it easier to highlight and write notes in the margins.