Networks of identity: the potential of biographical studies for teaching nursing identity

This article reviews the historiographical elements of the professional identity of nursing, focusing on what historians have denoted as the "history of the present." Professional identity interacts with elements of power, gender, politics, philosophy, and history, and its value is tied to the importance it assumes at any given time in any given society. The collective identity of the profession is elucidated by the construction of nursing history, linked to the history of women and gender relationships in professional care and educational, organizational, and class practice, and also by the biographies of individuals who have shaped this identity through their reputations and life stories. In this light, it is argued that biographies could help illuminate the elements of identity formation of interest to nursing scholars and further the development of the profession; they could also bring discussions of the past and present into the teaching-learning process for nursing students. The authority and significance of these identities will also be discussed.