About the Identities and Social Action programme
Identities and Social Action was a five year research programme funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. The programme ran from 2004 to 2008 and was directed by Prof Margaret Wetherell (Open University). The ESRC invested £4 million in 25 research projects based in universities around the UK. These projects deepened our understanding of the processes involved in the making of selves, groups and communities. The programme focused on the attempts of people with very different trajectories and from very different contexts to build communities and 'liveable lives'. These were the key questions.
- How do people construct a sense of identity these days?
- What are the consequences of the identity paths chosen?
- How do identity choices intensify or ease social conflict?
- What is it like to build an identity in situations of social exclusion?
The research projects ran for 24 to 36 months and the main findings for the programme emerged in 2007 and 2008. Programme activities included workshops, international conferences, public lectures, working papers and interim reports. You can find summaries of the key findings for each project under Research Projects and the publications and outputs from the programme under Publications. Please contact us if you require any further information on the programme.
