Re-theorising the funds of identity concept from the perspective of subjectivity

Abstract

This paper is a theoretical response to recent developments in the funds of identity literature which has seen the introduction of two interconnected concepts, ‘dark funds of identity’ and ‘existential funds of identity’. While these recent concepts may expand the canvas from which researchers draw in developing interventionist approaches for minoritised students, they nevertheless polarise positive and negative emotions and experiences which is problematic on a conceptual level. This paper addresses this issue by first presenting how funds of identity and existential funds of identity have been theorised, arguing that there remains a tension between the distributed theory of the original conceptualisation of funds of identity and the phenomenological and subjective dimension that underpins existential funds of identity. In order to resolve this tension, I situate the funds of identity concept within a cultural historical tradition, drawing upon González Rey’s work on subject sense and subjectivity in order to propose an alternative conceptualisation of funds of identity that allows researchers to transcend the dichotomy of positive and negative emotions.