Constructions of culture and identity in contemporary social theorising1

This article seeks to address the problematic nature of the cultural concept in social theory, and public formulations such as multiculturalism and national identity. By examining two dominant, contrasting and complementary viewpoints of culture – the ideational drawn from anthropological theory, and the structural from a more sociological perspective – it suggests that identity is the outcome of a complex interaction of Socio-behavioural factors.