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The end of identity as a political aggregation strategy: emerging assemblages Vol 23 (Nº 2) July-December |
Teknokultura. Journal of Digital Culture and Social Movements of the Complutense University of Madrid, indexed in JCR, Dialnet Métricas and with FECYT indicator, seal, calls for articles and video-essays for a thematic issue is calling for articles and video essays for thematic issue on "The end of identity as a strategy of political aggregation: emerging assemblages" to be published in vol. 23(2) July-December 2026 (final version) or immediately after its acceptance (online preview). It is undeniable that identity politics have brought significant advances in the promotion of social justice and the political participation of socially excluded groups, favouring awareness and solidarity between related identity categories. Identity, as a theoretical and political tool, has been the focus of feminist movements, struggles for sexual and gender diversity and anti-racism, among others. Although identity movements have served to win rights and freedoms, identity politics are currently being assimilated by the dominant governmental logics, for example, through the notion of the “white wound”. The populist right has been able to co-opt identity politics, positioning itself as the defender of dominant identities and eclipsing the necropolitical background of its proposals. At the same time, the post-Fordist economy places individual identity at the core of contemporary governmentality, generating processes of subjectivization that promote the personalization of personal desires and trajectories. The individualization of identity, fostered by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), has accelerated these processes of subjectivization through mechanisms such as, for example: the reflexive construction of self-image, the social validation of identity, the algorithmic moulding of media consumption, virtual communities, or the collapse of historical time into a continuous present. Lifestyle has become a core element in political identification and polarization in what has been called the culture wars (Hunter, 1992), leading to the progressive influence of identity in political positioning and sources of political information. As a result, the political has now become identity-based. The mutation and co-optation of identity politics are generating, among other things, processes of social disaggregation, compartmentalization of demands, individualization of inequalities and discrimination, identity isolation in collective action, lack of articulation with “other” problems, or the hierarchization of struggles. These processes hinder the configuration of responses that question and reverse the logics of contemporary governmentality. The multiplication, fragmentation and essentialization of identities is leading to a compartmentalization, individualization, hierarchization and segmentation of collective action that, in some cases, runs against the progressive agenda.
Given the current centrality of identity in collective action, it is necessary to generate knowledge from activisms and critical academic studies that theoretically, epistemologically and politically problematize the impact of identity politics. This includes examining the processes of essentialization (identity inherent to the subject), homogenization (having the attributes of the category to which one belongs), exclusion (who can belong), representation (who can speak). Furthermore, it is necessary to construct and reflect on new forms of political articulation that transcend identity identifications and provide tools for political aggregation based, for example, on territory (community), resources (the commons), the environment (ecology), or the human (health). This special issue seeks contributions that analyse the current situation of identity politics and provide experiences of political aggregation that transcend identity logics. List of topics of interest:
Original research articles (maximum 7,000 words) or original video essays (maximum 10 minutes) will be accepted by 15 September 2025. Papers must not have been previously published or be under consideration by other journals or publications. Research articles: presentation guidelines can be found at: https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/TEKN/about/submissions Each section has its own templates and can be downloaded at: https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/TEKN/Plantillas The section policies (editorial guidelines of the journal's sections, length, and blind review system) can be found at: https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/TEKN/politicasecciones
Video essays: The maximum length is 10 minutes. he maximum length of the written statement is 500/1000 words, including bibliography (and filmography), graphics and other supplementary material. The works should not have been previously published or be under consideration by other journals or publications. The authors must upload the video essay on Vimeo, preferably on a webpage under protection by password, or Critical Commons, and submit the proposal to the journal as indicated on section policies and submission templates. This thematic issue will be coordinated by Joan Pujol Tarrés (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Marisela Montenegro Martínez (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and Ángel Gordo (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). For any queries, please contact the following e-mail addresses: joan.pujol@uab.cat, marisela.montenegro@uab.cat, ajgordol@ucm.es |
