| This dissertation focuses on discourses of personal and national identity in Chile, as they were conveyed through the media and voiced by the people during the time that the first female President of the Republic was in power. Michelle Bachelet's government was characterized by a revitalization of the public sphere, and issues of identity underlined many debates surrounding the country's state of affairs. This work proposes that personal identity in Chile is anchored on three main aspects -- political position, gender, and class -- which in turn are related to larger political, social, economic, and cultural processes. During the last 30 years, the nation has been transformed by the military dictatorship, the transition to democracy, the implementation of neoliberalism, and the advent of globalization. Multiple tensions have developed as the established ways of traditional society have been challenged by the scenario of late capitalism, and this study inquires into the negotiations of meaning that have ensued. As a theoretical proposition, this work advances the idea that identity construction is a "situated" process, shaped by the dominant understandings and shared memories that are passed-on to new generations. Personal identity is related to national identity, which is embedded in notions of "common sense," of assumptions about the world that are internalized and taken for granted within the community. The issues that shape personal identity are also important for understanding the national character and the image that Chile projects to the world. Therefore, this work addresses topics that intertwine with social discourses of identity, such as: cultural trauma and the memory of the dictatorship; women's empowerment and social inequality; classism, commodification, and modernity; and narratives of the nation-state in a global world. This research is done from a Cultural Studies perspective, using a critical approach and presenting an analysis informed by social theory. The methodology is qualitative, combining data obtained through text analysis of Chilean media material, three months of field observation, and in-depth and ethnographic interviews. Overall, this study unveils the social understandings of identity that existed in Chile during the time of Bachelet's presidency, providing a detailed picture of a historical time. |
