Abstract
There is a long tradition of studying narratives in the social sciences, but recent years have seen a veritable explosion of interest in the subject. Definitions of ‘narrative’ and ‘story’ have multiplied, new analytical approaches have emerged and old theories have been revisited. Here is a book that introduces some of the leading contemporary strategies for analysing stories, storytelling and the context of narrative production. The book’s introductory chapter by sociologists James A Holstein and Jaber F Gubrium calls for integrity and consistency in the research process: ‘methods of analysis should not be viewed as a cafeteria of options, where one picks and chooses according to immediate or expeditious preferences’ (p. 6). Data, methods, analytical strategy and theory are mutually interdependent, and should be treated as such. Over the course of the following twelve chapters, some of the leading narrative researchers of our time – from a variety of fields, including psychology, folklore and communication – put forward their own perspectives on narrative research.
One would probably be well advised not to read this extensive and potentially overwhelming collection in one go, but at the same time, due to the clarity of language, the diversity of ideas and the array of fascinating empirical cases discussed, the book remains captivating throughout. Dan P McAdams, for example, illustrates his take on life-narrative research by examining, among other things, George W Bush and the dispositional traits, psychological motives and narrative identity that has made him who he is. As is true of many other passages in this book, the conclusion of McAdams’ analysis deserves quotation: ‘the central feature of this conservative president’s narrative identity was the deliverance from chaos and the restoration of goodness through self-discipline’ (p. 29; italics in original). According to McAdams, this self-narrative was part of the reason that Bush ran for president and invaded Iraq in 2003. Stories matter. In a chapter on Quantitative Narrative Analysis, Roberto Franzosi examines lynching stories reported in newspapers in the state of Georgia between 1875 and 1930. Ray Cashman illustrates an ethnographic approach to storytelling in a study of an Irish céilidh, which is a social gathering of neighbours or friends usually beginning after dinner and lasting into the early morning. Cashman invites us inside one such event to introduce us to the beautiful art and craft of storytelling as it presents itself in this particular setting. In a study of how narratives can be used to foster public support, Martha S Feldman and Julka Almquist analyse a speech given in 2010 about the building of the Orange County Great Park in California. This latter case may not sound especially exciting, but it is brought to life through Feldman and Almquist’s eloquent demonstration of how speechmakers, intentionally or otherwise, can make use of stories to put across their arguments in a compelling and captivating way.
The chapters’ centring on analysis of concrete cases and examples brings flesh and blood into the discussions, and prevents it all from spinning off into starry-eyed theorizing. Moreover, the cases examined allow the authors to present down-to-earth advice on what to do and what not do when conducting narrative research. Not only is this useful, in some cases it is also bold and provocative.
In particular, a passage by Andrew C Sparkes and Brett Smith may raise some eye-brows and, hopefully, prompt some soul-searching in the academic world. Sparkes and Smith have studied ‘interrupted body projects and the narrative reconstruction of selves following catastrophic spinal cord injury (SCI)’ among amateur rugby players (p. 54). They have produced an enviable number of papers on this topic, in which they present the analysis as – in their words – ‘a rather linear, step-by-step, and essentially cognitive process’ (p. 55). However, Sparkes and Smith admit that their analytical work also has a not-so-linear, back and forth and essentially sensual dimension to it, a dimension they have glossed over in their research papers – perhaps because it would be met with resistance in scientific journals, which tend to favour straightforward, standardized and easily recognizable descriptions in the Method sections. Sparkes and Smith explain: ‘Clearly, in our study, we have immersed ourselves in the narratives of the men who have suffered catastrophic SCI and become disabled through sport. As part of this immersion, the men’s narratives have permeated our own flesh and made connections between our bodies in various ways. To date, however, these corporeal connections and our bodies have remained an absent presence in our accounts’ (p. 56).
Sparkes and Smith take us behind the slick façade of the analytical process and present us with personal details that generally remain absent in scientific writings. Depression, anxiety and fear: these are some of the emotions that have affected them as they were conducting their research. Of course, such emotional turmoil does not remain hidden away inside researchers, but necessarily finds some kind of outward expression – including in the scientific outputs. So, editors, reviewers and writers out there, perhaps the time has come for more openness and honesty about the emotional challenges that emerge from and mark research?
The book contains many other thought-provoking revelations, recommendations and pieces of advice. Arthur W Frank and Francesca Polletta, in their respective chapters, address the problem of defining what a story is. Polletta writes: ‘While people normally know when they are hearing a story, just how they know that is complicated’ (p. 246). And what about kernel stories and story fragments: ‘Do they reproduce solidarity (since we all know the story that is alluded to)? Or do they draw lines between those who are in the loop of understanding and those who are outside it?’ (p. 246). The book thus raises many questions and opens up new vistas for narrative research, while exemplarily exemplifying ways in which such research might be conducted.