Luisa Neubauer was born in 1978 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where her parents, both Jewish, came to the country together. She grew up studying art and politics, studying in Israel before pursuing a degree in political science at the University of Amsterdam. During this time, she began a relationship with Martin Heidegger, whom she worked with during their politically incorrect academic years. After completing a doctorate, he encouraged her to pursue a career as a writer, which led her to become involved in the creation of a journal, which is published today, in addition to several novels.
Luisa Neubauer’s most well known book is entitled Ages of Identity, which covers the issue of nationality, ethnicity and the fluidity of identities across time, and is the first comprehensive account of this important issue in literature. As an educational psychologist, her areas of interest focused on the social construction of gender, age, ethnicity, and nationality, and she used historical, cultural and sociological approaches. While not a specialist in any field relating to identity, her book provides a unique perspective and analysis of such topics that are relevant to educational practices today. This is because she combines knowledge from multiple disciplines to produce a balanced and inclusive volume that teaches the many aspects of how we define ourselves, including identity, nationality, ethnicity and race, as well as how these concepts are related to issues of personal and communal life.
Age of Identity traces the development of identity across various time periods and nationalities. The first half of the book charts the evolution of national identities through Europe’s history, while the second half traces developments in other areas, such as Australia, the United States, Canada and beyond. The book makes interesting and suggestive reading, especially those who may question the validity of notions of national, racial or ethnic identity. Neubauer rightly notes that there has been much progress in areas like medical diagnosis and treatments, but much remains to be done in terms of creating meaningful discussions about identity. In short, this is an impressive contribution that emphasizes the important role of psychology in enriching our society.