Introduction

In one of Shakespear’s best-known plays, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet opines, ‘What’s in a name? that which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet’. While this phrase is most often quoted in order to demonstrate the arbitrariness of names – a rose may be called ‘dog’ but its scent world still be alluring; Romeo may be named something other than Montague and he would still be attractive to Juliet – in sociological terms it is a problematic statement. Names may indeed be arbitrary, but they do matter. Around a name a person builds his or her sense of self, of attachment to others and of his or her place in the world. Names and titles – personal, professional and kin based – are the stuff on which we construct identity, and through which we experience belonging – belonging to family, place and cultural groups. The primary concerns of this collection are to firstly explore the varied meanings and values that are attached to names, titles and other categories and markers of identify today. Secondly, the collection explores how such categories and markers shape, influence and/or mediate our experiences of belonging in everyday life. As demonstrated by many of the chapters in this volume, our understandings of identity and belonging have shifted over time, and they continue to shift and evolve in response to some of the rapid social changes that are being witnessed today under globalisation. That said, identity and belonging have been a preoccupation for theorists for longer than you may think.