Is it possible to name to "identity" without running the risk of reifying it? And, where it has been stated in words, does it not evoke forces and tensions behind one of the most explosive of human phenomena? Whether it may be conveyed in words or not, identity is one of the most extensively debated words in our contemporary world. The successive upheavals which this phenomenon has undergone on a global scale, due to technological, economic and other forms of mutation and to the ensuing loss of habitual points of reference (whether political, sociological or geographical) has brought into question the relevance and validity of our bearings more generally. This state of affairs obliges each of us to face the novelty of his or her destiny and the necessity of choosing an orientation in light of this novel situation. The case of Europe is particularly significant, if it is not exemplary. The obsolescence of past solutions, and anxiety in face of an unpredictable future, confer a new significance on the most fundamental existential questions, which come to expression under the heading of "identity". The query takes on a collective scope. The apparent capacity of a single term to join together different significations unavoidably raises the question concerning the multiplicity of its dimensions (political, cultural, sexual, economic, political, geographic, etc.) which at times may also reveal themselves, often tacitly, to be not only ambiguous but even contradictory. In neutralizing its emotional charge, one may expect that a debate that unites different human and social sciences will lead to dialogue concerning the different "dimensions" of identity. What is the "sociological" component of singular identities? Is there such a thing as collective identity? What is the role of history and of memory in the articulation of identity? In what manner might the places one frequents contribute to its definition? How do religious beliefs, a language practised, etc. also play a role? And, if at all possible, how might one combine these different aspects as a whole? The encounter of different disciplines intends to encourage the exposition of different approaches, conceptions and - if possible - definitions. Is identity simple or multiple? Innate or acquired? Is it situated in what is permanent or in what changes? Does it refer to a singular or a collective reality? Otherwise stated, such encounters should permit us to confirm, reformulate or invalidate, in any case to broaden the estimation which, in his own time, Thomas Mann voiced when he situated identity between the unspeakable and the dreadful.