Alternative Narratives Research Articles

From Residua to Offal: Beckett’s Counter-Anthropocene(s)

This article reflects on a series of short texts by Samuel Beckett, proposing that they centre our focus on the ‘residues’ of capitalist systems. Exemplars of the subject as victim, Beckett's human characters tend to fall prisoner to mutations in their environments; all that is left to them is the possibility of remaining, persisting amidst ruination. In this regard, Beckett’s work might be read as an act of resistance against an anthropocentric narrative of Earth’s history and against the temporalities of the Great Acceleration. This article thus identifies ‘counter-Anthropocenes’ in a selection of Beckett’s prose texts, where the transformation of the world no longer produces gain or profit, but always waste or leakage – a residue that is also ‘what remains’ or subsists, a ruin that is part of the development whereby the Capitalocene becomes a Necrocene. After an introduction to this terminology and a discussion of its resonances within a range of Beckettian ecosystems, the article then explores characters’ material modes of subsistence that resist the imperatives of the Capitalocene; they manage to ‘go on’ in a world without future. The article argues that the abundance of remains and their circulation in Beckett’s fictional worlds provide alternative narratives of human history, in which globalising and totalising perceptions can never be achieved. Rather, human beings themselves are turned into refuse caught in, and subjected to, the entropy of the Necrocene. Reading Beckett’s texts through this lens augments a conundrum at the heart of Beckett’s oeuvre and at the core of the ecological challenge of our times: the limited agency of individuals in the eco-socio-political systems that shape the everyday. Beckett’s Necrocenic poetics of loss offers us a vision of stillness and persistence against the fast-paced, production-oriented temporalities of the Anthropocene—or Capitalocene.

One myth to rule them all and in the darkness bind them: a critical examination of Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey

ABSTRACT This special edition embarks on a critical exploration of Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey, challenging its dominance as a universal narrative framework and its implications for contemporary storytelling, particularly in the context of evolving media landscapes. Drawing on C.P. Nield's critique of Campbell's monomyth as a "Hollywood McMyth," the collection of articles within this edition seeks to unravel the monomyth by advocating for a narrative plurality that reflects a more inclusive and diverse spectrum of stories. Contributors to this edition engage with alternative narrative paradigms that emphasise community, companionship, and commonality, moving beyond the individualistic focus of Campbell's framework. This shift is underscored by the rise of interactive and immersive storytelling technologies, such as VR, AR, and XR, which demand a re-evaluation of narrative structures to accommodate the dynamic and fluid nature of contemporary storytelling. Through a decolonial lens, the articles collectively argue for a decentring of narrative meaning, proposing new approaches that embrace the complexities of global challenges and the multiplicity of human experiences. Setting the stage for a critical examination of The Hero's Journey, inviting readers to consider the ethical implications of narratives in shaping socio-cultural values and norms in an era of immersive and participatory media.

Политический нарратив: концепции, типологии и структуры

The article is devoted to the study of the narrative turn effects in humanitarian knowledge on the formation and development of the narrativity theory in relation to various types of discourse. The paper focuses on analytical and theoretical studies of the political narrative, its state of research, systematization of the concepts underlying its interpretations, and identification of the modern trends specifics in the development of political narrative. The authors managed to demonstrate the capacity of the narrative paradigm to describe the narrative nature of mentality and human activity through the prism of narrative in a socio-cultural context. Criteria have been established that make it possible to define a political narrative from the perspective of various interpretations. The theory of metanarrative is systematized and the stages of its transformation in the mirror of postmodernism and metamodern concepts are characterized. Five essential characteristics of the metanarrative are given: usefulness, ubiquity, invisibility, commitment, rigidity. The value component of metanarratives in the aspect of Russian and foreign cultures is represented by the example of basic concepts. The structure of ideologies and the family of ideologies as conceptual cluster formations are presented and described. The theories of the counternarrative are considered and the authors criteria for differentiating the alternative narrative and the counternarrative are put forward. The general structure of the narrative is demonstrated, taking into account narrative levels and narrative acts. The structure of the political narrative is described and the conditions for the successful implementation of the political narrative are identified, including the key elements of the political narrative: the main character, plot, setting, conflict, resolution. The most effective tools of the current manipulative strategy of political storytelling are analyzed – the tactics of spinning or “unwinding” the positive aspects of the message, and the techniques of using spin – cherry picking, gaslighting, non-denial denial and others. The grounds for distinguishing between fakes and factoids are presented. Classification parameters for the narrative analysis of political discourse are proposed.

Imagination and metaphor in narrative therapy and collective practice

In this paper I explore the use of metaphors in the creation of externalised problem narratives for individuals and larger collectives, as well as in the creation of preferred alternative narratives. Through practice examples, I relate some of the ways in which I have been working with imagination and metaphor in my own context in Western Australia. This includes therapeutic work with individuals, as well as collective processes in which I have been able to apply narrative principles. How this connects to the broader field of narrative work is also explored, as are some issues related to ethics and power.

Narratives of research collaboration for sustainability at the global science-policy interface: A vehicle for inequality or transformation?

Collaborative science has become a ‘gold standard’ in sustainability science, to address increasingly complex socio-environmental challenges and knowledge divides. Inequalities shaping research collaborations (RCs) however remain unexplored in the science-policy interface. To address this gap, we carry out a critical discourse analysis of texts by international policy and research actors engaged in the global discourse on science for sustainability. We examine which narratives of RC they mediate, and how these address inequalities related to RC. Our study shows that documents of United Nations bodies primarily mediate a deficit narrative, with focus on a lack of resources and innovation capacity in ‘less developed’ countries. The alternative transformation narrative of RC mediated by reports of UNESCO and other science-policy institutions implementing science for the SDGs offers a more complex picture, which accounts for epistemic inequalities and frames RC as essential to address global challenges. The latter narrative holds most potential for change yet emerges with a varying prevalence, which we explain by institutional contexts and disciplinary diversity of experts. We find a disparity in the visibility of the transformation narrative in texts by policy actors and academic actors implementing science for sustainability. This may have structural implications for RC in global science and the inequalities they (re-)produce or counter. We suggest a more nuanced engagement with RC as policy and research subject for science to deliver the holistic transformation the 2030 Agenda strives for.

Beyond Stereotypes: A Socialist Feminist Exploration of Female Characters in Shoujo Anime and Their Impact on Traditional Gender Roles in Japanese Society

This study explores the complex portrayal of female characters in shoujo anime, focusing on how they challenge or subvert traditional gender roles and stereotypes in Japanese society. Through the examination of three popular shoujo anime series—“Nana”, “Skip and Loafer,” and “Violet Evergarden”—the paper investigates how the shoujo genre has evolved within the context of Japan’s cultural, historical, and political landscape. Utilizing a socialist feminist perspective, the research highlights the intersectionality of gender, class, and power, providing insights into gender equality’s universal challenges and opportunities. This investigation emphasizes shoujo anime’s potential to shape perceptions of gender roles among viewers, inspire alternative narratives, and contribute to the ongoing struggle for respectful and empowering representations of women. The study concludes with recommendations for fostering a culture that respects and values diversity in gender roles and expressions.

Young people, place-based stigma and resistance: A case study of Glasgow’s East End

This article analyses working-class young people’s perceptions of and resistance to place-based stigma, through a case study of a youth-led theatre project in the East End of Glasgow, UK. The impact of stigma on working-class communities is well-established; through the effects of poverty and inequality people and places are stigmatised. Although existing literature emphasises that we must recognise how working-class people construct alternative narratives, there is limited evidence on how people in neighbourhoods with high levels of poverty manage and resist stigma. There is a dearth of research on young people’s resistance to stigma. This qualitative study found promising signs of young people’s agency to resist place-based stigma by constructing alternative narratives. Through creative work, young people were able to convey powerful messages around poverty-related issues, making visible the effects of poverty on individuals and communities and encouraging empathy and understanding. However, it was also evident that individualistic understandings of poverty are so powerfully ingrained that these alternative narratives stopped short of an explicit recognition of structural causes of poverty. This article argues that viewing resistance as a process helps to identify possibilities for supporting young people to further develop critical consciousness, to confront stigmatising discourses in a way that exposes power relations, and to generate activism.

On Social Emergence: A Non-Dichotomous Approach to Qualitative Tool Design

The narrative biographical interview is a research tool that has been successfully used to study the reproductions of the overall constellations of social life that occur within an individual life. The entire methodological proposal as well as the issue of reproduction are based on a dichotomous epistemology. In the presented article, we analyse this issue of reproduction as it appears in Fritz Schütze’s work. Next, we describe a proposal for an alternative narrative interview – interview about the present based on a non-dichotomous epistemology. In our opinion, this epistemological perspective addresses the issue of reproduction in a completely different way. And, more importantly it introduces in the field of sociology an issue of emergence. To illustrate this non-dichotomous logics, we are using the material from one of the interviews from the research data collection.

Staying local – experiencing local landscapes and the potential of hidden stories

ABSTRACT This article considers some of the opportunities increased visitation to recreational areas presents in terms of engaging residents and visitors with local heritage in the form of Historic Environment Records (HERs). There are countless potential ‘hidden stories’ related to cultural heritage sites and artefacts within palimpsest landscapes. These sites and artefacts present opportunities for alternative narratives of place to be negotiated, creating links to the past in the present, and between the exotic and the familiar. The changing approach to landscape practices resulting from COVID-19 restrictions presents new opportunities to engage people with these hidden stories, linking places near with far-off lands across time and space. It also encourages new connections with place that have the potential to (co-)create new narratives; increasing engagement, as well as correlating with pressing issues centred around the climate crisis and the urgent need to reduce travel to achieve Net Zero targets.

Alternative policy narratives of the future of climate change: Analyzing Finland's energy and climate strategy and news reports

AbstractIn this article, we examine the ways in which the futures of climate change and the climate change policy process are constructed as narratives—both explicitly and implicitly—in two different yet interconnected contexts that shape public climate discourse and debate: foresight‐based political decision‐making and journalism. The featured case is the National Energy and Climate Strategy of Finland for 2030. We employ and expand the Narrative Policy Framework to better understand the co‐existent, implicit narratives of the future in the contexts of policy and media. We construct two co‐existing yet contradictory underlying narratives of the future of climate change and climate policy. Our approach reveals that the prevailing master narrative of a desirable future is challenged by a co‐existing counter narrative where policies in the energy and climate strategy prioritize shorter‐term policy interests over climate change. Building on these findings, we argue that, in climate policy communication, communicators convey futures through narratives—both explicitly, as descriptions of what is perceived, hoped, and anticipated to happen, and implicitly, as the sum of the parts included and excluded.

‘Kesho’ Scenario Development for Supporting Water-Energy Food Security under Future Conditions in Zanzibar

Social-ecological interactions mediate water–energy–food security in small developing islands, but community-scale insights are underrepresented in nexus research. These interactions are dynamic in their response to environmental and anthropogenic pressures and need to be understood to inform sustainable land use planning into the future. This study centered on bringing together diverse stakeholders to explore water–energy–food futures using the “Kesho” (meaning “tomorrow” in Kiswahili) scenario tool for two of the largest islands that comprise the Zanzibar Archipelago. The methodology comprised four core stages: (1) exploration of how past drivers of change impacted water–energy–food security; (2) modeling of a Business as Usual Scenario for land cover change; (3) narrative development to describe alternative futures for 2030 based on themes developed at the community scale; and (4) predictions about how narratives would shape land cover and its implications for the nexus. These results were used to model alternate land cover scenarios in TerrSet IDRISI (v. 18.31) and produce visual representations of expected change. Findings demonstrated that deforestation, saltwater incursion, and a reduction in permanent waterbodies were projected by 2030 in a Business as Usual Scenario. Three alternative scenario narratives were developed, these included Adaptation, Ecosystem Management, and Settlement Planning. The results demonstrate that the effectiveness of actions under the scenario options differ between the islands, indicating the importance of understanding the suitability of national policies across considered scales. Synergies across the alternative scenario narratives also emerged, including integrated approaches for managing environmental change, community participation in decision making, effective protection of forests, cultural sensitivity to settlement planning, and poverty alleviation. These synergies could be used to plan strategic action towards effectively strengthening water–energy–food security in Zanzibar.

Age as Adventure: Restorying Later Life

<p>For many people, aging is perceived and experienced in implicitly tragic terms: as a narrative of decline, as little more than a downward trajectory toward decrepitude and death. Such a way of storying later life can set us up for (among other things) narrative foreclosure, which can fuel the mild-to-moderate depression to which older adults are susceptible in the face of aging’s many challenges. Insofar as our experience of aging is inseparable from our story of aging, this paper argues for an alternative narrative of later life. Drawing on concepts from narrative gerontology and narrative psychology, it outlines how later life can be re-genre-ated from tragedy to adventure in at least four inter-related directions: Outward, Inward, Backward, and Forward.</p>

Threaten, Distract, and Discredit: Cannabis Industry Rhetoric to Defeat Regulation of High-THC Cannabis Products in Washington State.

Washington State legislators have attempted to regulate high delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis to reduce cannabis-related harms. Historically, industry actors of other health-compromising products have influenced governments' adoption of evidence-based regulation policies. A better understanding of the industry rhetoric can be used by public health advocates to develop counterarguments and disseminate alternative narratives that protect the public's health. We analyzed the arguments used by cannabis industry actors opposing regulations to de-incentivize the availability and use of high-THC products in Washington State. We analyzed 41 testimonies transcribed from 33 cannabis industry actors in 3 public bill hearings and one legislative work session that occurred between 2020 and 2023. Using a deductive thematic analysis, informed by industry actors' arguments opposing regulation of alcohol, tobacco, and high-sugar beverages, we developed a codebook to analyze and identify themes within cannabis industry rhetorical strategies. We identified three main rhetorical strategies used by cannabis industry actors to oppose THC content regulation: threaten, distract, discredit. The most frequently used rhetorical strategy was threats to economic benefits, public health, and the will of the people. The other two most apparent strategies were distracting from the bill's focus by introducing a tangential topic and discrediting the science that supported regulation of cannabis products with high THC concentration or its advocates. Cannabis industry actors have leveraged several arguments used by industry actors of other health-compromising products to undermine initiatives to advance public health. They have also adapted rhetoric from other industries to the unique conditions of the cannabis regulatory landscape.

Enabling Pariahs

China’s economic size and authoritarian system allow it to “enable” pariah states’ violations of international norms in Myanmar (genocide and military coup), North Korea (nuclear missile development), and Russia (unprovoked invasion of a neighboring state). The Xi Jinping leadership not only advances national interests—involving trade, investment, energy supplies, and strategic access—but also aims to counter perceived threats to and constraints on the Chinese Communist Party, weaken its American superpower rival, and reshape the international order. Beijing’s relations with Myanmar, North Korea, and Russia exhibit three enabling mechanisms: economic sanctions busting; diplomatic coordination at the United Nations; and presenting alternative narratives via state-controlled media. Although China’s strategy is costly and has produced mixed geopolitical gains, it appears focused on the long term. In response, the United States and its partners are coordinating international law enforcement, strengthening institutional cooperation, and combating authoritarian informational campaigns.

Contesting monuments, challenging narratives: Divergent approaches to dealing with the colonial past and its legacies in Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal was the longest modern European imperial power, yet the dominant historical narrative is characterised by a celebration of the ‘Discoveries’ and a denial of colonial violence. This is visible in Lisbon's public space, dotted with monuments and statues glorifying the imperial past, while occluding less convenient histories. Especially since 2017, more attention has been given to Portugal's colonial past in public debates. Various initiatives have stimulated discussions about this past, while highlighting socio-cultural issues connected to these histories that continue to affect Portuguese society today. These have contested certain monuments and the narratives they embody, as well as created alternative narratives regarding the public space and cultural memory. This article compares a selection of recent interventions that contest monuments and dominant narratives about Portugal's colonial past. We look at the ways in which certain spaces and monuments become zones of contestation, and how such contestation not only contributes to changing dominant narratives, but also to resignify such spaces and structures. Our goal is to shed light on the variety of agents working towards a change of narrative regarding Lisbon's public space and memory, while reflecting on the socio-political meanings surrounding the presence and absence of monuments related to the colonial past.

“My goal is to make sustainability mainstream”: emerging visual narratives on the environmental crisis on Instagram

IntroductionIn the face of the current climate crisis, environmental communication can contribute to providing new frames of understanding and promoting social change and positive citizen action. Through social media, on platforms like Instagram, concerned citizens embrace environmental communication activism ultimately reshaping the narratives regarding the climate crisis. These individuals, who we identify as both activists and environmental influencers, are challenging the established media narratives with their posts and stories, thus offering alternative narratives. Accordingly, this paper aims to elaborate an incipient characterization of a communicative agenda that includes the emerging elements of these visual narratives in social media as potentially able to engage citizens to take action in their ordinary lives.MethodsOur research draws on a qualitative methodological approach, based on: (1) a digital ethnography carried out on 60 Instagram accounts devoted to the dissemination of environmental concerns and contents, (2) a visual narrative analysis of 281 selected posts of the previous accounts, and (3) 14 in-depth interviews conducted with digital activists.ResultsWe have identified the main traits of these emerging visual narratives: the use of positive visuals and content; first-person accounts highlighting the small actions and achievements (propositive narratives) that can be carried out in our daily lives; and/or the use of memes, humor, and other elements of popular culture to make the environmental cause mainstream.DiscussionThe study underscores a notable divergence between established environmental narratives and those curated by eco-influencers on social media. These influencers strategically leverage emotionally resonant, positive visual narratives, departing from fear-inducing content. They emphasize individual actions and solutions rather than collective interventions, personalizing the climate crisis. Additionally, their narratives engage in a nuanced dialogue with nature and integrate popular culture, humor, and memes to effectively reach diverse audiences. This shift reflects a broader cultural change in communication strategies, signaling a novel approach to mobilize audiences toward environmental engagement.

Teens and digital media: How do we move toward productive public discourse?

ABSTRACT In recent years, increased attention has been paid to possible linkages between youth digital media use and well-being. Greater scrutiny is certainly warranted, given how much time teens spend with technology and the escalating number of teens who struggle with their mental health. However, a negative frame has shaped much of the public discourse about the relationship teens share with technology. News media in particular have tended to vilify digital media as the central contributor to youth problems, amplifying adult fears and disregarding youth agency in the process. In this commentary, we argue that alternate media narratives are possible and more likely to be productive. Showcasing examples from popular fictional streaming programs Euphoria and Ginny & Georgia, we highlight how complicated, nuanced representations of teens’ digital media interactions can more realistically and poignantly address the contemporary moment. We conclude by challenging scholars to consider how they can engage with media storytellers, particularly journalists, in an effort to shape a public discourse about youth and digital media that is more accurate, meaningful, and productive.

Haunted Modernization: Urban Legends and Cultural Transition in Contemporary China

Over the past half-century, a series of reforms in China have brought about economic prosperity and rapid urban development. Urban legends in contemporary China constitute an essential part of folk culture, reflecting the distinctive features of Chinese urbanization and its subsequent problems. This article aims to explore some of the most representative popular urban legends, including the ‘Legends of the Campus and Shopping Mall’, ‘The Vanishing Hitchhiker’, and the ‘Legends of Phoenix Men’, in relation to social development in the period of rural–urban transformation. The article argues that Chinese contemporary urban legends provide an alternative narrative of cultural transition and fragmentation, stretching from the rural traditions to modern urbanization. They express Chinese people’s wishes, hopes, and desires for a better world, yet at the same time they also reveal their fears, anxieties, and concerns about the rapid pace of social change and the subsequent problems it brings, such as higher crime rates, political corruption, a deeper class divide, and a shaken cultural foundation. It is hoped that this article will provide a fresh insight into studies of folk culture and urban legends.

Reframing Perceptions of Signares in French Colonial Senegal

Fifteenth to nineteenth-century French Colonial Senegal was a period of unprecedented cultural contact and convergence in Western Africa. With these interactions came new social hierarchies and the emergence of the signare identity. Signares were wealthy mixed-race and African Women who became involved with French men. This paper examines nineteenth-century art by Frenchman David Boilat and Stanislas Darondeau, and the eighteenth-century house of signare Anne Pepin. It critiques the racism and sexism depicted within Boilat and Darondeau’s work as well as its misinterpretations by contemporary scholars Mark Hinchman and George E. Brooks. Signares were knowledgeable entrepreneurs rather than manipulative and seductive women, which I argue with the support of contemporary scholars Marylee Crofts and Hilary Jones’ work. As I complicate existing research and develop an alternative narrative, I urge readers to question the diverse narratives about these African and mixed-race women in French Colonial Senegal.

Narratives of social orphans in Latvia: Using a life history methodology to listen to the voices of care leavers

This study investigated social orphans through narratives of young people with experiences of growing up in institutional care in Latvia. The study uses the life histories of participants to explore the phenomenon of social orphans. To date, narratives about the lived experiences of social orphans in Latvia have been told in the third person, as most studies have used methodologies that kept participants passive rather than active. The research process in this study recorded 19 care leavers’ life experiences in detail and covered three main life phases: 1) Prior to living in care; 2) Living in care; 3) Life after care. A thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. Participants’ experiences revealed some commonalities: factors that preceded children entering care, occurrences from care and life trajectories post-care. The findings also supported a deconstruction of stereotypes and dominant assumptions about orphanage care. They provide alternative narratives to what it means to grow up as a social orphan in Latvia. Notable were the strategies of self-reliance and resistance to adversity, as well as a preference for group care and a summation of what care leavers would like from professionals during care. Finally, recommendations for policy and practice are introduced; these emerged from the study findings and the positioning of the participants as ‘knowledgeable of their experience’. This rich knowledge base can be used to support and inform the practice of children moving through the institutional care system in Latvia as well as in other contexts.