Counternarrative and antenarrative inquiry in two cross-cultural contexts

Abstract

We developed a theory of an antenarrative practices in relation to the interplay of dominant cultural narratives and counternarratives of resistance. Antenarrative is defined here as the field of forces Before, Between, Beneath, Bets and Becoming that occurs in the reduction of diverse living stories of Self to hegemonic narratives and counternarratives. We contribute two case studies of the ways antenarrative processes accomplish the hegemony, and the resistance occurring between dominant narrative and counternarrative. In the first case, dominant cultural narratives of homelessness are resisted by counternarrative theatrical performances by developing micropolitic antenarrative threads to bring what is Before, Beneath, Between, and Becoming to the fore, so that alternative Bets on the future become presented to audiences. We also offer an antenarrative inquiry into counternarrative and narrative cultural stereotypical representations of race, class and gender, and offer theory and methodology resources for a more meaningful understanding of homeless life and cultures. The second case explores narrative-counternarrative and antenarrative inquiry into a cross-cultural merger between two companies. Both cases contribute to how the storytelling world is an interplay of dominant narratives and their counternarratives, and the undercurrent of antenarrative processes.