Identity in a Crisis Society: Individual and Collective Dimensions during the Plague in Venice (1575-1577)

Abstract

The article focuses on the processes of forming individual and collective identities under crisis conditions, using the example of the plague in Venice (1575–1577). The main emphasis is placed on how religious practices, social institutions, and emotional culture shaped the mechanisms of self-identification among urban citizens.

The study is based on an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the methodology of microhistory, the history of emotions, and sociocultural analysis. It draws on the theoretical frameworks of Charles Taylor’s concept of moral orientation, Benedict Anderson’s notion of “imagined communities,” Anthony D. Smith’s ethnosymbolism, Erik H. Erikson’s theory of the “identity crisis,” as well as the approaches of Barbara Rosenwein, William Reddy, Norbert Elias, and Thomas Laqueur for interpreting emotional, social, and gender dimensions.

The research reveals that individual identities were constructed through penitence, vows, and other practices of religious introspection, while collective forms of solidarity were manifested in the activities of confraternities and parishes. The city’s collective identity was built upon rituals, the cult of saints, and symbols of shared memory. Emotional culture-regulated by both Church and civic authorities-transformed private experiences of fear and loss into socially accepted forms of communal action. The gender dimension influenced the roles and perceptions of women in crisis situations.

The plague in Venice acted as a catalyst for transformations affecting both individual behavioral strategies and collective notions of community. Identity was shaped at the intersection of moral, religious, social, and emotional factors. The study demonstrates that analyzing crises requires combining the methodologies of the history of emotions, microhistory, and cultural history to uncover mechanisms of self-identification in early modern societies.