The proliferation and politization of identities, almost always associated with the promotion of particular interests or rights, have come into direct conflict with the universalist and rationalist certainties underlying modern societies and states. This phenomenon has given rise to an abundant and varied literature, particularly in the fields of philosophy and political theory. The authors begin by providing a succinct review of this literature, and then turn their attention to a discussion of how it interpellates and questions the sociological imagination. They argue against the type of approach that reduces identity issues to a psycho-political pathology or to a social engineering problem for which there are moral or ethical solutions. They offer the outlines of a discussion of how sociology should come to grips with this issue.