Microsoft Word - PhD Thesis Final.pdf - University of Limpopo ...

shared identities can transcend obvious identity markers such as race,
gender, age and class. In this case, people of different tribal origins might
find themselves sharing the same experiences, for instance, of being under
colonial threat, to such an extent that they identify with one another as a
result of that shared experience.
Castells’s position is advanced by A. Leon (1970) in relation to Jewish
identity 65 . G. de Vos and L. Romanucci-Ross (1975) also maintain the same
position of the “shared experience” notion. They argue that a sense of
common origin, common beliefs and values, a common sense of survival –
in brief, a common cause – has been of great importance in uniting men into
self-defining groups 66 . They further argue that growing up together in a
social unit, sharing common verbal and gestural language allows men to
develop mutually understood accommodations, which radically diminish
situations of possible confrontation and conflict.
The notion that identities can only become an experience if only enforced
enough over time is also still espoused by Castells 67 . Castells argues that
shared experiences can be contrived, but that the resultant identities will be
superficial until they are forced enough over time 68 . Identity can be built
65 A. Leon, The Jewish Question, p. 9.
66 G. de Vos and L. Romanucci-Ross, Ethnic Identity: Cultural Communities and Change, p. 5.
67 M. Castells, Globalisation, Identity …, p. 7.
68 Ibid, p. 7.
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