Semiotic Construction of the Self in Multicultural Societies: A Theory of Proculturation

Semiotic Construction of the Self in Multicultural Societies elaborates on a holistic theory on the self, by means of integrating social representation theory, dialogical self theory and particular ideas from Vygotskyan developmental psychology in one framework.

This book sends a humanistic message by indicating the power of inexhaustible human imagination that empowers individuals to strive for knowing the unknown, checking limits of their abilities and challenging (distancing) and at the same time, affectively and semiotically engaging (undistancing and recreating) their heritage cultures. It provides theoretical elaborations and innovations through the example of the case study of Georgian society and particular cases of proculturation. The theoretical and empirical explorations of proculturation experiences allow ways of tracing the rebuilding of the bridges between psychological and anthropological sciences, paving a path towards transdisciplinary approaches.

This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of social psychology, semiotics and multicultural studies.

Vladimer Lado Gamsakhurdia is an Associate Professor at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia. He got Georgian national ＂Dimitri Uznadze award in social sciences＂ in 2019. His interests are associated with theoretical and empirical explorations of self and identity construction, proculturation, and persons’ relations with cultures.