Wherever I Drop Anchor

Abstract

This paper investigates the connection between young people’s local identities and future perspectives regarding physical mobility and home with Zygmunt Bauman’s concepts of ‘liquid modernity’ and ‘anchor’ as theoretical framework. 40 semi-structured interviews with eight graders from two different communities provide the empirical setting for discussions and analyses. The results paint a clear picture of young islanders critically negotiating their ‘glocal’ identities as independent ‘bricoleurs’ in a complex late modern world. Their individual priorities and strategies support the use of the maritime metaphor of ‘anchoring’ in the quest for a better understanding of identity formation today. Young people’s identities and values, the paper concludes, cannot be unveiled without strong attention to local contexts and glocal processes.