Playing up Difference

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2364033
AutoresKrystal Laryea (0000-0002-0022-6144, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, autor correspondente)
Ano2024
Volume42
Fascículo2
Páginas160-180
Data de publicação2024-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSociological Theory (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0735-2751 • E-ISSN: 1467-9558
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/07352751241241081
OpenAlexW4393483599
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas51

How do groups reckon with differences in members' identities and beliefs? A tension exists between groups, whose identities are singular and stably positioned, and their members, whose identities are intertwined and constituted in interaction. Existing work shows how this tension is addressed through downplaying difference, but we know less about how differences are played up in group life. Drawing on two years of ethnographic fieldwork and 56 interviews with a racially and politically diverse religious group, I examine how members play up identities and beliefs that are not shared by all and how comembers respond. This analysis reveals two pathways that playing up difference takes: an engagement pathway and an avoidance pathway. The engagement pathway depends on the activation of shared structural, relational, and epistemic foundations. I conclude with a broader consideration of how playing up difference relates to the pursuit of plurality and wholeness in contemporary organizations and communities

Environmental Science · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Politics and Representation · Social and Cultural Dynamics