Caltrop Matrix of Identity
the formations and forms of cultures. Complexity construct is one of the many elements in a
complexity system, which plays an indispensable structural role in the operation of the
overall system. In coding identity as a complexity construct, a metaphor is utilized – a
caltrop. Such a code of caltrop is more than a metaphor, which is supposed to highlight only
one aspect and hides the others of the tenor. Actually the structures, dynamics, and
connotations of a caltrop are all meaningful in the representational functions to identity. The
elaboration of the similarities between a caltrop and cultural identity eventually leads to the
construction of a model called Caltrop Matrix of Identity (CMI) describing and visualizing
the structural and dynamic complexities of identity. CMI is not only a rhetorical paradigm, an
interpretive framework, but also a potential empirical model that can solve many cultural
puzzles, such as racial discrimination, ethnic riots, and unsettled cultural hybridities.
However, on the other hand, in exploring the nature of identity, CMI model should not be
completely constrained by the botanic or physical characteristics of a caltrop; it is in essence
an abstract model crystallized with multiple dimensions and embedded with dynamic
variances that are beyond a real caltrop. In a nutshell, a caltrop is a metaphor, but
conceptually and connotatively more than a metaphor; it is an abstract representation of
identity in context.
The elaboration of CMI in the current paper includes three sections: 1. a literature review
of identity related concepts, principles, theories, and metatheoretical perspectives in
intercultural communication studies; 2. a descriptive demonstration of CMI in terms of
identity’s structural properties and dynamic rules; 3. an interpretive application of CMI in the
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Convention