Dialogical Self Theory and the increasing multiplicity of I-positions in a globalizing society: an introduction

Dialogical Self Theory is a recent development in the social sciences, based on a conception of the self as a society of mind. In this conception, the self is considered as extended to significant others in the environment, who populate the self as a dynamic multiplicity of I-positions between which dialogical or monological relationships may emerge. While from a spatial perspective the self is engaged in a process of positioning and counterpositioning in a globalizing society, from a temporal point of view the self is part of a process of positioning and repositioning in collective history and personal development. Some phenomena that are necessary for the understanding of the dialogical self are discussed: dominance and social power, the processes of globalization and localization, the experience of uncertainty and possible reactions to uncertainty in a globalizing world. Finally, the different contributions of this special issue are placed in the context of the presented conceptual framework.