Abstract

The construction of national identity has been approached from two areas of social knowledge: the understanding of the organization and functioning of society; and the understanding of the self and the search for identity. In the former, national identity is considered a part of the political reasoning with underlying concepts and explanations of a social-geographical and logical content. In the latter, national identity is viewed as a facet of the self, linking the individual (or not) to others with whom s/he shares her/his sense of membership of the group or groups, as it is the case for those exposed to more than one culture. These are often considered pertaining exclusively to their family's country of origin. Both approaches stress the agency of the person who gives meaning to her/his experiences with places, institutions and others.