How do the stories we tell shape who we are?
Prof. Ann PhoenixConversation is a continuous act of curating, connecting and analysing the events in our lives. How do we decide how we want to be seen?
Learn about this Garden Talk
Every time we tell a story, we are deconstructing and reconstructing an image of ourselves: our social identity.
We use narratives to make sense of the world. The simple act of having a conversation with someone else forces us to curate, connect and analyse the events of our own lives and in the world around us. How does this complex process take place, and what conscious and unconscious decisions are we making about who we are and who we want to be when we talk?
Professor Ann Phoenix is an expert in how psychological experiences and social processes are linked, particularly in young people building their social identity. She's joining us in The Garden to explore how the life stories we tell in the present about the past are influenced by our anticipation of the future, and how we all become experts in accomplishing this.
Talk outline
50 minutes
Anatomy & Identity
About the Fellow
Ann researches the ways in which psychological experiences and social processes are linked and intersectional. She became fascinated by this topic because people were often treated too simplistically in much psychological work.
Anatomy & Identity Collection
How we think about who we are and how that intersect with our bodies, brains and biology is the subject of discussion today. But has this always been the case? Are there blurred lines between anatomy & identity we should be exploring?Conjoined twins are among the rarest of human beings. Revered in some cultures and vilified in others. How should we think about individuality in conjoined twinning, & should the phenomenon often seen as a medical “problem” be solved?
In 1911, French doctors thought LS, a fashion model, had herniated ovaries. No one expected them to be testes. What is intersex? And what can we learn about sex and gender development from it?
Conversation is a continuous act of curating, connecting and analysing the events in our lives. How do we decide how we want to be seen?
Do the anatomical differences between men and women extend to the biology of the brain? Or does it all come down to environmental influence?
The world of dating, sex and childbirth is a hazardous one, full of complex behaviours and even threats to our health. Well, mating in the animal kingdom is just as complex. What can we learn about "the birds and the bees" by looking at our animal cousins?
Some of mankind's most enduring questions are about who we are as individuals, how we can live successfully alongside others, & the tension between the two. What can we learn about identity from our furry, feathered and scaly friends?
We often hear about nature vs nurture, but did you know that science can pinpoint specific personality traits that can be traced to the environment we grew up in? How much of our adult personality has its roots in not who we were born, but where?
