ABSTRACT
Belonging is both abstract and fluid, properties that create difficulties when we attempt to articulate particular belongings, and as a result we often fall back on the flawed and static vocabularies of identity to describe these abstract feelings of relation. The use of problematic essentialist vocabularies to designate one’s own belonging or the belonging of others – as illustrated here using the example of ‘national’ identity – can have significant repercussions, including the creation of feelings of exclusion and isolation. This chapter interrogates the intersection between belonging and the vocabularies of identity, drawing upon empirical work from a research project with multiple citizenship status holders in both Australia and Greece.
