Hermeneutics and Narrative

A narrative community

by Chaim Noy

The Fruit of Her Hands: Women in the Old Testament

by Corinne Blackmer

Ritual Water, Ritual Geist: An Application of Narratological Analysis to Luke's Development of Christian Initiation from John the Baptist to Pentecost

by David McCollough

This paper employs narratological analysis, especially focalization, the sequential development of entity... more This paper employs narratological analysis, especially focalization, the sequential development of entity representations and intertextuality, to demonstrate that through Luke 3, 11 and Acts 2, Luke prescribes a liminal ritual complex of initiation composed of four elements: repentance, water baptism, prayer and xenolalic experience understood as Spirit reception. The paper briefly explains focalization (the lens through which a narrator looks at something) and entity representations (ERs, the mental construct of a character, motif, procedure, network of relationships, etc., built up lineally through a narrative). It addresses the intertextual role of Isaiah and Malachi in the formation of the initiation ER, and implications of lukan Sinai imagery.
The paper traces the cumulative development of the initiation ER from John the Baptist’s prophecy of Spirit and fire baptism, to Jesus’ baptism, to Jesus’ teaching on prayer for the Spirit, to Pentecost. Luke’s use of priestly imagery is found to color his portrayal of believers. The Pentecost narrative is shown to redundantly focalize the xenolalia experience, and to identify it for the reader as the Spirit experience prophesied by Joel and promised by Jesus, and to prescribe that same xenolalic experience as a boundary marker obtainable through repentance, water baptism and prayer.
The paper will demonstrate that notwithstanding a strong, undeniable vocational role, narratological analysis indicates Luke subordinates Spirit experience under a broader soteriological heading which can be further refined as initiatory with a liminal aspect, thus ecclesiological.

Narratives of trust in constructing risk and danger. Interpretations of the Swissair 111 crash <2003>

by Joerg Potthast

book chapter

eds. Jane Summerton & Boel Berner, Constructing Risk and Safety in Technological Practice. London, Routledge, 43-65

(from the editors' introduction) Until the second half of the twentieth century, there was little difference between... more (from the editors' introduction) Until the second half of the twentieth century, there was little difference between the “expert” view of accident causation and that attributed to the public, which Green points out. Since then, professionals have tried to move away from a “popular” understanding of accidents toward a uniquely “professional” understanding based on what is viewed as a rational approach to risks and their management. The “irrationality” of the popular understandings was then – as was discussed in the introductory chapter to this volume – tobe studied in psychological and psychometric work. Jörg Potthast gives an interesting perspective on these emerging tensions between expert and lay opinions in his study of different interpretations of the causes of the Swissair crash near Halifax, Canada, in 1998. He analyzes a large number of contributions to a discussion site on the Internet in the aftermath of the crash. Potthast’s analysis shows that the boundaries between expert and lay opin-ions are blurry at best, despite the attempts of some contributors to invoke an authoritative voice.

the problem of recipiency in honor killings

by Zouhair Ghazzal

When God Became Poor

by Daniel Keeran MSW

by Daniel Keeran, MSW

When the Son of God was conceived in a young virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, God entered humanity in a poor unwed... more When the Son of God was conceived in a young virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, God entered humanity in a poor unwed mother who was delighted that the Lord had recognized the low status of His servant.

She declared that God has visited the poor and powerless and done the opposite of what was expected by the rich and powerful, in bringing His Messiah into the world. The theme of his life was to reach out to those in trouble and to the whole world separated from God by sin.

The hearer-reader is asked to be aware of thoughts and feelings that come up inside as God reaches out and acts in his and her experience.

Ricœœur

by Anna C. Zielinska

« Paul Ricœur », in Timothy O'Connor, Constantine Sandis (eds), A Companion to the Philosophy of Action, Blackwell-Wiley, 2010.

Heidegger's Hermeneutic Method in Tertiary Education.

by Robert Shaw

Robert Keith Shaw (2011). Heidegger's Hermeneutic Method in Tertiary Education. In Fowler Pip, Strongman Luke & Kobeleva Polly (eds.), Writing the Future. Wellington: Tertiary Writing Network.

Heidegger’s hermeneutic method and his account of pedagogy are useful in teaching students how to think and write.... more Heidegger’s hermeneutic method and his account of pedagogy are useful in teaching students how to think and write. This paper interprets the method of thinking which Martin Heidegger taught to his students and indicates strategies that have been used to introduce that method to New Zealand students in an online course. The method appears to philosophers as a technique of conceptual analysis, although Heidegger may not have agreed with that characterisation or its use in this way. To tertiary teachers it is one framework that they may use to teach a strategy and techniques under the rubric of critical thinking. The use of the method of procedure proposed is well within the capabilities of teachers in practical subjects such as business, management, medicine and law. Students in the author’s business analysis course say that a hermeneutic strategy forces them to struggle, but ultimately they report satisfaction at their increased abilities and believe that they have gained something efficacious.

Making It Personal: Shared Meanings In the Narratives of Holocaust Survivors

by Chaim Noy

Book Chapter. Schiff, B., and Noy, C. In Anna De Fina, Deborah Schiffrin & Michael Bamberg (eds.), Discursive Construction of Identities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 114-143. (2005).
I apologize for not offering this chapter in pdf form (I'll try to repair this soon).

"Detecting Doctrines: The Case Method and the Detective Story"

by Simon Stern

23 Yale J. of Law and the Humanities 339-87 (2011)

Many scholars have compared legal judgments with detective stories, and have suggested that law professors should... more Many scholars have compared legal judgments with detective stories, and have suggested that law professors should teach cases in a way that reflects the structure of detective fiction. This essay explores that analogy, arguing that detective fiction’s asserted concern with the logical analysis of clues helps to show why exponents of legal doctrine would look to this genre as a model. Detective stories changed in the late nineteenth century, for the first time organizing their narrative structure around the use of clues, and hence claiming to promote logical reasoning in a way that allowed the reader to compete with the detective in solving the mystery. This explanation echoes the rationales offered by the advocates of the case method when it was first being endorsed around the same time. Law teaching changed similarly, moving from the methods of lecture and memorization to an approach that required students to navigate a narrative medium (the case) and to discover its essential components on their own. These two developments, in literature and law, stem from a common source - the emergence of new scientific methods aimed at tracing visible effects back to their hidden causes, exemplified by Charles Lyell’s work in geology and Charles Darwin’s work in evolution. When the early advocates of the case method talked about legal science, they emphasized scientific values such as coherence, clarity, and consistency, but an equally important aspect of the enterprise received much less rhetorical emphasis - namely, the method itself, which reflected the forms of scientific inquiry exemplified by Lyell and Darwin.

This essay explores those connections by considering various historical and structural analogies between the case method and the detective story. Part I takes up the changes in legal education associated with Christopher Columbus Langdell at Harvard, and discusses the intellectual roots of the case method, the justifications offered in its support, and the narrative tendencies that it relies on and promotes. Part II turns to the origins of the modern detective story near the end of the nineteenth century, and shows how the genre developed from the same scientific background as the case method. This section then examines in greater detail some of the ways in which case-method pedagogy may be said to cultivate the same habits as detective fiction, and concludes with some examples in which courts have expressly invoked the analogy to describe their own procedures or have crafted doctrines with the aid of propositions borrowed from detective stories. Part III considers some examples of detective fiction, pursuing the analogy further by asking why lawyers often figure as detectives in these stories. Finally, in a short conclusion, I discuss the analogy’s implications by considering the emergence, around the turn of the nineteenth century, of a doctrinal approach that discovered underlying rights behind express constitutional guarantees.

The Authenticity of Archaeological Fictions

by Allison Mickel

Mickel A.: The Authenticity of Archaeological Fictions. In: Smith C., Smith J. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology: SpringerReference (www.springerreference.com). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2011. DOI: 10.1007/SpringerReference_300609 2011-10-20 23:02:18 UTC

Cognición retrospectiva, intertextualidad e interpretación: Un símbolo en 'Navidad' de Nabokov

by José Angel García Landa

"Hindsight, Intertextuality, and Interpretation: A Symbol in Nabokov's 'Christmas'." Published in SYMBOLISM: An International Annual of Critical Aesthetics (New York: AMS Press), 5 (2005): 267-94. English text at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1624262

Este artículo examina la significación del simbolismo de la mariposa en el relato de Vladimir Nabokov ’Navidad’... more Este artículo examina la significación del simbolismo de la mariposa en el relato de Vladimir Nabokov ’Navidad’ ('Christmas', trad. de 'Rozhdestvo', 1925), a la luz de una teoría interaccionista de la interpretación. Se muestra cómo los elementos intertextuales emergen a través de un proceso de debate crítico, relectura e interacción discursiva, a medida que se van estableciendo gradualmente la importancia y significación cultural de un texto. El enfoque crítico de este artículo intenta combinar las percepciones del análisis del discurso, de la hermenéutica narrativa y de la pragmática literaria.

Filozoficzna myśl Białorusi: granice poszukiwań

by Valery Yevarouski

published in ΣΟΦΙΑ nr 8, 2008

Zwłaszcza historia filozofii jest zwykle rozpatrywana jako trwający w czasie
dialog mający na celu przekazanie... more Zwłaszcza historia filozofii jest zwykle rozpatrywana jako trwający w czasie
dialog mający na celu przekazanie przez jedno pokolenie filozofów – drugiemu
znaczenia. To znaczy, że otrzymując w charakterze dynamicznego modelu interpretacyjnego
określoną strukturę znaczeń, historyk filozofii tworzy swój własny
tekst, nakłada na transmitowane sensy kolejny kontekst, tworząc swoją własną
resymbolizację. W ten sposób nowo utworzona interpretacja filozoficzna otrzymuje
ambiwalentną konstrukcję. U jej podstaw leży umownie pewien pierwotny
substrat, który istniał już wcześniej w postaci społecznego lub indywidualnego
zapytania. Nowa resymbolizacja jest modyfikacją poprzednich wariantów odpowiedzi
w celu zbudowania współczesnej dla danego filozofa struktury spełniającej
potrzeby owego zapytania. Najbardziej uniwersalne z tych zapytań oparte
są na osobistych i społecznych potrzebach tej lub innej intersubiektywnej składowej,
która z reguły jest niemożliwa bez wyjaśniających odpowiedzi na pytania
typu „Kim jesteśmy?”, „Dlaczego jesteśmy tutaj?”, „Po co istniejemy?”, „Jaka
jest nasza przyszłość?”. Przy tym filozofia, jako „pierwsza nauka”, w rozwiązywaniu
tego problemu pod wieloma względami podobna jest do swojej starszej
siostry – medycyny.

Lovelorn Lamentation or Histrionic Historicism? Reconsidering Allusion and Extramusical Meaning in the 1854 Version of Brahms's B-Major Trio

by Jacquelyn Sholes

19th-Century Music 34/1 (Summer 2010): 61-86.

Although it has long been accepted that the 1854 version of Brahms's B-major piano trio contains references to... more Although it has long been accepted that the 1854 version of Brahms's B-major piano trio contains references to Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte and Schubert's Schwanengesang, it has escaped notice until now that the piece also alludes, clearly and in a structurally significant manner, to Domenico Scarlatti's Sonata in C major, K.159. Strong musical evidence for this additional allusion is corroborated by Brahms's long-term, multifaceted engagement with Scarlatti's music as demonstrated by his correspondence, music library, performance repertoire, theoretical studies, and other compositions. The revisions Brahms made to the trio in 1889 are also highly suggestive: for the first time, the three theme groups replaced by altogether new material can be understood to correspond precisely to those containing the clearest allusions to the music of other composers. Identification of the Scarlatti reference necessitates reevaluation of the oft-proposed idea that the trio's song references function as a lament for Brahms's own “distant beloved', Clara Schumann. The reference to Scarlatti, while potentially supportive of such a program, also suggests an alternative interpretation: perhaps the trio's allusions are best understood within the context of the young composer's struggle to reconcile his relationship to his predecessors in the heady period surrounding the publication of Schumann's Neue Bahnen. If the original trio represents an elegy for the musical past, rather than—or even in addition to—a lament for Clara, then the 1889 revisions, not to be understood simply as Brahms's attempt to expunge an embarrassing confession of love, must be considered in terms of the historical perspective of the mature composer.

Beyond the Frame(s). Narrative and Representation in Jerome Nadal's Evangelicae Historiae Imagines (Antwerp, 1593)

by Dominique Bauer

Crosscurrents in Illustrated Religious Texts in the North of Europe, 1500-1800 (12-13 January 2012)
http://emblems.let.uu.nl/congres/

Beyond the Frame(s). Narrative and Representation in Jerome Nadal's Evangelicae Historiae Imagines (Antwerp, 1593)more Beyond the Frame(s). Narrative and Representation in Jerome Nadal's Evangelicae Historiae Imagines (Antwerp, 1593)

In Jerome Nadal's Evangelicae Historiae Imagines, a number of engravings highlights distinctive, speaking moments of gospel stories read during Sunday mass. The pictures furthermore contain framed pictures themselves. These so called pictures-within-pictures simultaneously point to past or future events and in this sense they present different moments in time and space within one single image. Without breaking down the overall structure of the narrative that runs through the pictures, they however contribute in this way strongly to its fragmentation.
The picture-within-picture honored par excellence the Ignatian concept of the compositio loci. In this framework pictures generally exemplify the tension between the coherence of a story and its mental and psychological reenactment. They function as visualized mental reconstructions, mental spaces that are generated by the readers who "see" the story while they read or hear it and by doing so actively engage in its contemplation. Analyzing the picture-within-picture shows this tension in a very salient way. Though the attention is initially drawn to the internal fragmentation of both the image and the narrative, the source of this process is to be found precisely in the relation between the space of the beholder and the image. This can be better understood by turning to one of the earliest examples of the picture-within-picture, the 1324-1328 illuminations of Jean Pucelle in the Livre d'Heures of Jeanne d'Evreux. Pucelle's illuminations show how this type of picture essentially consists in the visualization of the act of beholding itself and how this type of representation affects narrative coherence.

Narrative, psychology, and the politics of sexual identity in the United States: From “sickness” to “species” to “subject.”

by Phillip L Hammack

Everyday Hyphens: Exploring Youth Identities with Methodological and Analytic Pluralism

by Valerie Futch

By: Dalal Katsiaficas, Valerie A. Futch, Michelle Fine, Selcuk Sirin

Taking seriously the call for methodological and analytic pluralism, we advance three key assumptions of theory and... more Taking seriously the call for methodological and analytic pluralism, we advance three key assumptions of theory and method: 1) young people develop “hyphenated selves” in shifting social and political contexts and in everyday circumstances; 2) pluralistic methods and research designs have the potential to capture identity movement across time and space; and 3) a pluralistic approach to analysis, specifically using a dialogical framework, allows hyphenated selves to be heard and interpreted in a way that neither pathologizes contradiction nor privileges coherence but presents a skillfully woven narrative about the self. To take up these questions, we draw upon the visual and textual narratives produced by three adolescents participating in a longitudinal, multimethod study designed to document social and academic engagement among urban youth.

Encounters of Production and Consumption in Viniculture: Identity Construction, Expert Knowledge, and Narrative Propagation

by Alyssa Khan

"draft only", "unpublished"

Encounters of Production and Consumption in Viniculture: Identity Construction, Expert Knowledge, and Narrative... more Encounters of Production and Consumption in Viniculture: Identity Construction, Expert Knowledge, and Narrative Propagation
____________________________________________________
Wine is more than a commodity and has been given a life of its own, owing its survival and success to the millions of people who produce, purchase, consume and otherwise participate in its advancement. A quality wine is the product of centuries of inherited wisdom about grapes, microclimates, taste reception, and of trial and error on a massive scale. Here, I have looked at the ways that human encounter has shaped and been shaped by viniculture. I also ask whether trust in expert judgments of quality reflect accuracy or merely reflect economic motivations or market authorities of the wine market, and look at the ways that situated, local, and partial constructions of narratives have been harmful to Portuguese cork farmers. Employing methods of map, media, and interview analysis and making use of the theories of several outside scholars, I have aimed for a breakdown of the reticulation of knowledge, culture and environment as well as a look at the spectrum of actors that are involved in the formation of socioeconomic realities of viticulture. Importantly, what can be gained and concluded from this work is an understanding of the relationship between wine and those immersed in its culture as reciprocal. ______________________________________________________
KEY WORDS: viniculture; expert knowledge; narrative; discourse; identity; wine; cork; Californ

Restor(y)ing lives: autobiographical reflection and perspective transformation in adults returning to study

by Jennifer K Miles

Throughout the course of our lives we are at times presented with the opportunity to reflect on our learning, to... more Throughout the course of our lives we are at times presented with the opportunity to reflect on our learning, to consider the experiences, the people and the environments that have contributed to the shaping of our sense of self, and to the expectation we subsequently have of ourselves and our future capacity. Nelson (1994) suggests we have the potential to transform our perspective if we have been enabled to explore the schemas woven into the fabric of our self-identity and to consider the impact this brings to bear on our life and learning. He speaks of the autobiographically reflective process as coming to imagine a future previously unknown.
This small-scale study, in one Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institute, examines the process and self-articulated outcomes of five participants in a qualitative, narrative based inquiry, investigating the capacity of autobiographical reflection to promote perspective transformation in adults returning to study within the context of vocational education and training. Drawing predominantly on the work of Brookfield (2005), Mezirow (2000), Freire (1972b), Shor (1992), Cranton (1994), Frankl (1964) and Rogers (1980), it explores the personal and social dimensions of meaning-making, identifying the role of critical reflection in transforming learners’ perspectives as they come to critique the power relationships and hegemonic assumptions that have influenced their construction of self-identity. Utilising a storytelling methodology, the thesis honours the narrative tradition in weaving the process and findings of the study through the stories of the participants as they dance on the edge of their knowing (Berger, 2004).
Through undertaking an autobiographically reflective process that included individual interviews and a focus group, participants were ultimately able to articulate a sense of meaning making that enabled the construction of a foundation on which a new future – a new story - might be built. Recommendations have been made around further investigation of the implications of these limited findings as they relate to the potentially greater social benefits of individual perspective transformation.

Le je(u) merveilleux et troublant du ‘million de narrateurs’ dans Le Portier de Reinaldo Arenas : fable singulière ou parabole de tous les exiles ?

by Charles Scheel

publié p. 271-282 in "Confrontations et métissages, Actes du VIe Congrès européen sur les cultures d’Amérique latine aux Etats-Unis," Université Michel de Montaigne-Bordeaux III, 7-8-9 juillet 1994 (Editions de la Maison des Pays Ibériques, Bordeaux, 1995).

Cet essai analyse le positionnement narratif d'Arenas dans ce roman de l'exil newyorkais, que l'auteur cubain dédie à... more Cet essai analyse le positionnement narratif d'Arenas dans ce roman de l'exil newyorkais, que l'auteur cubain dédie à son ami Lazaro (alias "Juan", le portier et protagoniste du roman). Arenas s'y montre aussi critique de la bourgeoisie de Manhattan et de "la communauté" des cubains exilés aux États-Unis, qu'il l'est ailleurs de la société cubaine sous Castro, qu'il a fuie en 1980. Dans la seconde partie du livre, l'exode des animaux domestiques de l'immeuble est narré, entre essai journalistique et fable, dans une savoureuse parodie du "réalisme magique" si souvent associée à certains grands auteurs latino-américains.