Narrative

The Importance of Informal Volunteering

by Jon Dean

Paper at the NCVO/VSSN Conference 2011. Themed panel on 'Challenging Narratives: Towards an Understanding of the History of Volunteering', with Georgina Brewis, Anjelica Finnegan and Nicholas Deakin.

This working paper seeks to highlight two issues. Firstly, that the research community often ignores the importance of... more This working paper seeks to highlight two issues. Firstly, that the research community often ignores the importance of informal volunteering, and secondly that to do so causes most harm to working-class communities.

After Sontag: Reclaiming Metaphor

by Martha Stoddard Holmes

Genre, Vol. 44, No. 3 Fall 2011a

Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors critiqued the use of metaphoric language, particularly... more Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors critiqued the use of metaphoric language, particularly military metaphors of invasion and battle, to describe illness experiences. Metaphors generate explanatory narratives, just as stories often use a resonant metaphor as shorthand for theme. Metaphors and narratives can suggest reductive or stereotypical ways of imagining illness, disability, and other experiences of embodiment. Rather than an end to metaphoric framing of illness, however, the agency to make metaphors needs to be conferred to a larger constituency that always includes the patient. The author’s first-person ovarian cancer narrative illustrates that not having the capacity to make metaphors for one’s embodied experiences can mean late diagnosis; the dearth of effective public metaphors for imagining some internal organs, such as the ovaries, contributes to the problem. Metaphors can be reductive, but they can also generate a wide range of relationships between illness and the person experiencing it, as illustrated by examples including Margaret Atwood’s short story “Hairball.” Simile in particular, which expresses similarity but not equivalence and thus does not erase difference, can generate a healthy way of imagining illness. Some recent literature has suggested that doctors use metaphor to communicate with patients; this gives doctors the power to determine which metaphors will frame the illness and direct its narrative. The lessons of narrative medicine, which advocate that patients and doctors use narrative collaboratively to generate a more effective understanding and treatment of illness, need to be extended to include metaphor.

(Pea)nuts and bolts of visual narratives: Structure and meaning in sequential image comprehension.

by Martin Paczynski

Cohn, N., Paczynski, M., Jackendoff, R., Holcomb, P., and Kuperberg G. (2012) Cognitive Psychology, 65, 1–38

Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images... more Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images must also use a cognitive system to distinguish coherent narrative sequences from random strings of images. We conducted experiments analo- gous to two classic studies of language processing to examine the contributions of narrative structure and semantic relatedness to processing sequential images. We compared four types of comic strips: (1) Normal sequences with both structure and meaning, (2) Semantic Only sequences (in which the panels were related to a common semantic theme, but had no narrative structure), (3) Structural Only sequences (narrative structure but no semantic relatedness), and (4) Scrambled sequences of randomly-ordered panels. In Experiment 1, participants monitored for target panels in sequences presented panel-by-panel. Reaction times were slowest to panels in Scrambled sequences, intermediate in both Structural Only and Semantic Only sequences, and fastest in Normal sequences. This suggests that both semantic relatedness and narrative structure offer advantages to processing. Experiment 2 measured ERPs to all panels across the whole sequence. The N300/N400 was largest to panels in both the Scrambled and Structural Only sequences, inter- mediate in Semantic Only sequences and smallest in the Normal sequences. This implies that a combination of narrative structure and semantic relatedness can facilitate semantic processing of upcoming panels (as reflected by the N300/N400). Also, panels in the Scrambled sequences evoked a larger left-lateralized anterior negativity than panels in the Structural Only sequences. This local- ized effect was distinct from the N300/N400, and appeared despite the fact that these two sequence types were matched on local semantic relatedness between individual panels. These findings suggest that sequential image comprehension uses a narrative structure that may be independent of semantic relatedness. Altogether, we argue that the comprehension of visual narrative is guided by an interaction between structure and meaning.

'We live beyond any tale that we happen to enact'

by Galen Strawson

published in Harvard Review of Philosophy 18 (2012) pp. 73–90

Some say [1] we all experience or conceive of their own lives as a narrative or story of some sort. Many more say [2]... more Some say [1] we all experience or conceive of their own lives as a narrative or story of some sort. Many more say [2] we ought to do this. I think both these claims are false (cp Strawson 2004). Many go on to claim something more specific: we not only experience our own lives as a narrative of some sort; [3] we ‘constitute our identity’ as a person or self in this way (the ‘narrative self-constitution thesis’). Others again claim that [4] we ought to constitute our identity in this way. Again I reject both these claims. People are very different; there are different good ways to be and to live. I consider Emerson, Nietzsche, Proust and Woolf—among others. Suppose Socrates is right (it may be doubted) that the unexamined life is not a life for a human being: suppose he’s right that self-examination is always a good thing. Even so, the narrative approach is not the only way to do it, nor the best way. I advise against it.

'We live beyond any tale that we happen to enact'

by Galen Strawson

published in Harvard Review of Philosophy 18 (2012) pp. 73–90

Some say [1] we all experience or conceive of their own lives as a narrative or story of some sort. Many more say [2]... more Some say [1] we all experience or conceive of their own lives as a narrative or story of some sort. Many more say [2] we ought to do this. I think both these claims are false (cp Strawson 2004). Many go on to claim something more specific: we not only experience our own lives as a narrative of some sort; [3] we ‘constitute our identity’ as a person or self in this way (the ‘narrative self-constitution thesis’). Others again claim that [4] we ought to constitute our identity in this way. Again I reject both these claims. People are very different; there are different good ways to be and to live. I consider Emerson, Nietzsche, Proust and Woolf—among others. Suppose Socrates is right (it may be doubted) that the unexamined life is not a life for a human being: suppose he’s right that self-examination is always a good thing. Even so, the narrative approach is not the only way to do it, nor the best way. I advise against it.

(Pea)nuts and bolts of visual narrative: Structure and meaning in sequential image comprehension

by Neil Cohn

Co-authored with Martin Paczynski, Ray Jackendoff, Phillip Holcomb, and Gina Kuperberg

Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images... more Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images must also use a cognitive system to distinguish coherent narrative sequences from random strings of images. We conducted experiments analogous to two classic studies of language processing to examine the contributions of narrative structure and semantic relatedness to processing sequential images. We compared four types of comic strips: (1) Normal sequences with both structure and meaning, (2) Semantic Only sequences (in which the panels were related to a common semantic theme, but had no narrative structure), (3) Structural Only sequences (narrative structure but no semantic relatedness), and (4) Scrambled sequences of randomly-ordered panels. In Experiment 1, participants monitored for target panels in sequences presented panel-by-panel. Reaction times were slowest to panels in Scrambled sequences, intermediate in both Structural Only and Semantic Only sequences, and fastest in Normal sequences. This suggests that both semantic relatedness and narrative structure offer advantages to processing. Experiment 2 measured ERPs to all panels across the whole sequence. The N300/N400 was largest to panels in both the Scrambled and Structural Only sequences, intermediate in Semantic Only sequences and smallest in the Normal sequences. This implies that a combination of narrative structure and semantic relatedness can facilitate semantic processing of upcoming panels (as reflected by the N300/N400). Also, panels in the Scrambled sequences evoked a larger left-lateralized anterior negativity than panels in the Structural Only sequences. This localized effect was distinct from the N300/N400, and appeared despite the fact that these two sequence types were matched on local semantic relatedness between individual panels. These findings suggest that sequential image comprehension uses a narrative structure that may be independent of semantic relatedness. Altogether, we argue that the comprehension of visual narrative is guided by an interaction between structure and meaning.

“Sharing in Their Spiritual Blessings? The Story of Israel in Galatians and Romans,” in Bruce W. Longenecker (ed.), Narrative Dynamics in Paul: A Critical Assessment (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 58-84

by Bruce Longenecker

“Narrative Interest in the Study of Paul: Retrospective and Prospective,” in Bruce W. Longenecker (ed.), Narrative Dynamics in Paul: A Critical Assessment (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 3-16

by Bruce Longenecker

Narratives of identity, home, and return of Kosovarian refugees: Steps toward a postmodern sense of agency

by Marco Gemignani

Post-Narrative: An Appeal

by Angela Woods

Narrative Inquiry (2011) Volume 21(2) Pages 399-406

As the narrative turn enters its fourth decade, the task of identifying the limits of narrative and of exploring... more As the narrative turn enters its fourth decade, the task of identifying the limits of narrative and of exploring alternative approaches to interpreting the self and social world is growing in urgency. This article calls for scholars in the medical humanities to undertake this project through critically (re)engaging the work of Galen Strawson, Paul Atkinson and Crispin Sartwell.

The Limits of Narrative: Provocations for the Medical Humanities

by Angela Woods

Medical Humanities Journal (2011) Volume 37 Pages 73-78

This paper aims to (re)ignite debate about the role of narrative in the medical humanities. It begins with a critical... more This paper aims to (re)ignite debate about the role of narrative in the medical humanities. It begins with a critical review of the ways in which narrative has been mobilised by humanities and social science scholars to understand the experience of health and illness. I highlight seven dangers or blind spots in the dominant medical humanities approach to narrative, including the frequently unexamined assumption that all human beings are ‘naturally narrative’. I then explore this assumption further through an analysis of philosopher Galen Strawson's influential article ‘Against Narrativity’. Strawson rejects the descriptive claim that “human beings typically see or live or experience their lives as a narrative” and the normative claim that “a richly Narrative outlook is essential to a well-lived life, to true or full personhood”. His work has been taken up across a range of disciplines, but its implications in the context of health and illness have not yet been sufficiently discussed. This article argues that ‘Against Narrativity’ can and should stimulate robust debate within the medical humanities regarding the limits of narrative, and concludes by discussing a range of possibilities for venturing ‘beyond narrative’.

Bankers in the Dock: Moral Storytelling in Action

by Andrea Whittle

Human Relations January 2012 vol. 65 no. 1 111-139

This article draws on insights from a variety of fields, including discursive psychology, ethnomethodology, dramatism,... more This article draws on insights from a variety of fields, including discursive psychology, ethnomethodology, dramatism, rhetoric, ante-narrative analysis and conversation analysis, to examine the discursive devices employed in the storytelling surrounding the recent financial crisis. Discursive devices refer to the linguistic styles, phrases, tropes and figures of speech that, we propose, are central to the development of a compelling story. We focus our analysis on the moral stories constructed during a public hearing involving senior banking executives in the UK. The analysis suggests that two competing storylines were used by the bankers and their questioners to emplot the events preceding the financial crisis. We propose that a discursive devices approach contributes to the understanding of storytelling by highlighting the power of micro-linguistic tools in laying out the moral landscape of the story. We argue that the stories surrounding the financial crisis are important because they shaped how the crisis was made sense of and acted upon.

Deconstructing Play: Reconciling Traditional Narratives and Video Games

by Julianne Peeling

Don’t Laugh at Kim-Il Sung: Anecdote, Occupational Narrative and Representation in Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang

by Nicholas Hartmann

Published in 'New Directions in Folklore,' 2012

French-Canadian graphic novelist Guy Delisle has made a name for himself with his series of illustrated narratives... more French-Canadian graphic novelist Guy Delisle has made a name for himself with his series of illustrated narratives about life in highly politically-charged nations. The best-known, Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, is known for its witty yet sharply critical take on a nation known for its secrecy and belligerence. Delisle’s narrative, while firmly rooted in a tradition of personal graphic narratives, is further bolstered by the use of anecdote and occupational narrative; this essay examines how such forms of verbal art are not only highly present in Delisle’s book, but also bring up important issues surrounding both outsider perspectives of North Korea and North Korea's representation of itself to the world.

The Children Are Listening

by Jonel Thaller

The Pope as Organizing Principle

by Jerzy Kociatkiewicz

Co-authored with Monika Kostera
Published in Barbara Czarniawska and Rolf Solli (eds, 2001) Organizing Metropolitan Space and Discourse. Malmo: Liber, p. 154-174.
Unformatted copy

In June 1999 the Pope visited Poland, stopping for a few days in Warsaw. The entire city was seriously reorganized in... more In June 1999 the Pope visited Poland, stopping for a few days in Warsaw. The entire city was seriously reorganized in connection with the visit: roads were being reconstructed for months before, prohibition was enforced, and during the visit the public transport routes were dramatically changed. Theatres were closed, so were libraries and parts of the universities. The media coverage of the visit was amazingly unanimous in expressing praise and admiration of the visit, and at the same time almost fully committed to bringing news of the visit – all articles were somehow linked to the Pope and his stay in Poland.
In this paper we reflect on the organizing involved in the event, particularly on how the Pope’s visit to Warsaw and the stories told around it affected the city and the way it was organized.

Hybridising methods towards narratives in an educational ICT inquiry

by Geoffrey Lautenbach

Taste Regimes and Market-Mediated Practice

by Zeynep Arsel

Co-authored with Jonathan Bean. Forthcoming in Feb 2013.

Taste has been conceptualized as a boundary making mechanism, yet there is limited theory on how it enters into daily... more Taste has been conceptualized as a boundary making mechanism, yet there is limited theory on how it enters into daily practice. In this paper, we develop a practice-based framework of taste through qualitative and quantitative analysis of a popular home design blog, interviews with blog participants, and participant observation. First, we define a taste regime as a discursively constructed normative system that orchestrates practice in an aesthetically oriented culture of consumption. Taste regimes are perpetuated by marketplace institutions such as magazines, web sites and transmedia brands. Second, we show how a taste regime regulates practice through continuous engagement. By integrating three dispersed practices—problematization, ritualization, and instrumentalization—a taste regime shapes preferences for objects, the doings performed with objects, and what meanings are associated with objects. This study demonstrates how aesthetics is linked to practical knowledge and becomes materialized through everyday consumption.

The Role of Cultural Narratives in Moral Decision Making

by Sonya Sachdeva

With Morteza Dehghani, Hamed Ektiari , Dedre Gentner, Ken Forbus

Cultural narratives such as those mentioned in religious texts and folk stories are instrumental in teaching core... more Cultural narratives such as those mentioned in religious texts and folk stories are instrumental in teaching core cultural moral values. In this paper, we investigate the role of cultural narratives in understanding novel moral situations. We examine whether the processes by which core cultural narratives are applied in people‘s lives follow the principles of analogical retrieval and mapping. In particular, we examine how analogical accessibility influences the use of canonical moral narratives. We also show how access to different moral stories results in differences in moral preference across cultures. We report on the results of two experiments performed among Iranian and American participants. Our results indicate that analogical accessibility to cultural narratives that are similar in structure to a given dilemma is the differentiating factor in our participants‘ responses across the different variants and between the two cultural groups.

Campion, B. (2010). Etudier la compréhension narrative. Difficultés d’opérationnalisation et usage de l’expérimentation en narratologie cognitive. Présenté à Colloque La narratologie face à la nouvelle dimension sociale des récits, Paris, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS).

by Baptiste Campion

Cet article se veut un essai réflexif sur les méthodologies de recherche en narratologie, et notamment sur leur... more Cet article se veut un essai réflexif sur les méthodologies de recherche en narratologie, et notamment sur leur difficulté à rendre compte, au-delà de modèles spéculatifs, de l'activité du lecteur empirique et de la manière dont le récit provoque effectivement un effet cognitif. Après avoir envisagé les différentes manières de considérer le lecteur dans la littérature, ainsi que les obstacles les plus courants à l'approche empirique, le texte argumente en faveur du développement d'une narratologie empirique d'inspiration expérimentale destinée à investiguer la question de la compréhension et des opérations suscitées par le récit chez le lecteur empirique. Cette démarche est illustrée par une recherche qui a utilisé la quasi-expérimentation pour mettre en lumière certains effets cognitifs de la structure narrative.