Nomadic Subjectivity and Criticisizm of the Conception of Identity: a Post-Structural Reading of Rosi Braidotti

Abstract

Rosi Braidotti, a prominent feminist philosopher, has contributed to the poststructuralist critique of identity with the concept of "nomadic subjectivity". The concept of nomadic subjectivity is an important reference in the critique of the structural process of identity. This concept is a kind of criticism that focuses on the possibility of transition among identities, rather than an anarchist attitude in the sense of rejecting identity. For Braidotti, identity has a structural functioning that prevents the metamorphosis of the subjectivity. By referring to the Deleuzian nomadic philosophy, Braidotti tries to open a new path for a transition among identities. For Braidotti, identity is not a notion that symbolizes the inter-subject hierarchy, but the contingent possibility of becoming a subject. The contingency of the identity, then, means that the notion of subject is not completed and has not a stable structure. This idea constitutes one of the obvious consensus between Braidotti and post-structural philosophy. This article aims to discuss the poststructuralist critiques of identity by focusing on Bradiotti's thoughts. The basic assertion of this article is that Braidotti's conceptualization of nomadic subjectivity has a poststructuralist content.