Dimensions of Social Identity

Community engagement provides us with the exciting opportunities to create change with others. Because our engagement in communities requires extensive interpersonal interactions, it's important that we explore three major components of social relationships. Social identities, power, and privilege. Social identities, or our social group memberships, shape our perceptions, interactions, and choice. Social identities are also deeply connected to the social issues with which we may be engaging during our experiences. Power and privilege are concepts related to social identity that can shape interactions we have with others. In order for us to create sustainable solutions to community needs, we have to identify our own power and own the privileges that we have. In this session, you'll learn more about yourself as you become more aware of your own personal and social identities. You'll recognize how certain social identities may impact social relationships in different settings. And you'll anticipate how your own social identities might influence your experiences, reactions, and interactions, based on community context.