Introduction

Identity is who and what you are. That sounds simple and straightforward, and in everyday life, we find ourselves continually involved in identity rituals. Dating or developing friendships involve intricate narratives about one's self and requests for such narratives from the interlocutor – a matter of ‘getting to know one another’. Meetings will start with a sequence in which everyone present tells his or her name and a couple of biographical and/or professional items sufficient to situate one's self in relation to the group and the occasion (when the meeting is professional, one is not likely to start off by saying ‘Hi, I am so-and-so and my marriage is falling apart’). In highly bureaucratised societies we have to flash our identity every time we enter into contact with administrative bodies, and in the job market, a written genre called the CV together with several other modes of talking about one's self play a crucial role. When we go to watch a sports game, we are likely to shift into another identity gear and wear caps, T-shirts, and banners with ‘our’ team's logo or colours. On the day of our country's independence or of our king's birthday, we get the day off because we are citizens of that country. And when abroad, we discover ourselves talking a lot about that country, living up to its stereotypes, defending its values and virtues, and in return receiving flak because of the mistakes it made or makes.