Identity & Identification

Whilst contemporary society shines a relentless spotlight on the self and has given birth to a 'me generation', social structures and scientific innovations have reduced the idea of the self to a mere statistic through the use of DNA profiling, identity cards and PIN numbers. New technologies have also shifted the idea of the self by enabling us to lead alternative existences and create virtual selves. A diverse range of perspectives are presented, including historical case studies to interviews exploring the more immediate social, cultural and political pressures shaping contemporary identity issues. Interviewees include singer, songwriter and political campaigner Billy Bragg, Independent columnist and Who Do We Think We Are? author Yasmin Alibhai, Paul Brooks, neuroscientist and author of Into The Silent Land, and Roz Kaveney, critic and writer, who was "born male but got over it". Generously illustrated and visually provocative the book is infused throughout with the paraphernalia of identity, such as diary extracts, fingerprint collections, artworks, photographs and death masks, bringing a strong visual component to the subject. ILLUSTRATIONS 206 b/w and colour images *