Concept Of Narrative Identity Research Articles

Spirituality and Narrative Identity: Three Case Studies

Since the narrative turn in the social sciences from the 1980s onward, there has been an increasing interest in the concept of narrative identity. The concept of narrative identity, however, is open to multiple interpretations. Here, we take a narrative hermeneutic approach and apply one particular model of narrative identity—to three case studies, exploring how each of these was shaped by the storyworlds of the participants. The case studies have been selected as examples of different forms of identity: received, bricolage, and guided. Following this exploration, we reflect on the potential of this approach in other areas of identity work and the implications for narrative understanding in the promotion of social justice.

Crafting Identity out of Uncertainty: Narratives of Israeli Adults Adopted as Infants

The present qualitative study examined the identity of 24 adults adopted as infants in Israel in closed adoptions who searched for their biological families. Previous research has shown that adoption-related uncertainty (ARU) may be characteristic of adoptees. Based on Erikson’s (1968) theory of identity formation and the concept of narrative identity (McAdams, 2011), we investigated how ARU relates to participants’ sense of identity. Based on the risk and resilience approach (Garmezy, 1991), we conceptualized ARU as a risk factor for identity formation and identified protective factors in the personal and social domains. Results showed that all participants experienced ARU regarding some major identity components. The analysis revealed two basic styles of coping with ARU: Limiting, in which adoption issues are avoided, and Expanding, in which they are dealt with more openly. We discussed the study’s limitations and implications for future research and practice.

"Is It Okay That She is a Woman?"

The article deals with Russian brainpower's perceptions of gender segregation in a technical university when training both IT-specialists and STEM professionals in general. The theoretical and methodological basis for interpreting the results of the empirical study are the main provisions of the theory of social representations, the concept of habitus and the concept of narrative identity. The assumption used as a research hypothesis is that gender “indifference” or neutrality, rather than gender discrimination, takes place in higher technical education in the Russian technical university. The analysis of the data obtained as a result of the study confirmed that there are gender professional distinctions in the group consciousness of brainpower. In Russian speech practice and culture, a thesaurus of non-binary perception of professional gender identity has not yet been formed. At the same time, there is a shift in perceptions of gender professional identity in IT towards gender “neutrality”, which allows us to expect a relatively “soft” transformation of social attitudes and adaptability of professional consciousness to changes in the perception of gender in IT.

Narratively Inquiring Into Experience, Narratively Attending to Environmental Education Teachers’ Identity

In the grand narrative of Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development, teachers are recognized as key agents of quality education and as catalysts for the learning that takes place. Yet, this widespread assumption has failed to attract sufficient attention to examine ‘who environmental education teachers are’ by prioritizing research around their identity. Our study here goes along this line of thought to narratively inquire into the experience of four Greek teachers actively engaged with environmental education. Based on the narrative conception of identity as ‘stories to live by’ as a basic tenet, it is argued that teachers’ identity is composed of the stories they live throughout their personal and professional lives. In this paper we unfold the story of one of these teachers, Zoe, and highlight how her ‘stories to live by’ changed throughout her life, shaping and re-shaping her identity. By proposing a narrative and relational way of thinking about teacher identity, we focus on the identity shifts Zoe unveils and connects them to the stories she experienced in past and present encounters she had with her family, teachers, friends, and colleagues.

Kosmopolska Artura Beckera – przestrzeń otwarta, przestrzeń poszukiwania własnej tożsamości

As a Polish writer of German-language works, Artur Becker sees his work and his biography in his self-narrative at the interface of the German language he chose and the Polish culture and language he abandoned due to his emigration to Germany. His novels address the crisis of identity and the search for identity of his characters in exile or on their return to their homeland of Warmia and Masuria. Becker’s collection of essays, published in Polish under the title Kosmopolska i Kosmopolacy. W poszukiwaniu europejskiego domu. Eseje (2019), is also a discourse on the search for identity. The article is an attempt to characterise the Becker’s definition of the term Kosmopolska, which incidentally comes from another émigré writer, A. Bobkowski. Kosmopolska turns out to be an open space, constructed narratively, that is a space of searching for and creating one’s identity in narrative and through language. This form of defining identity is part of P. Ricoeur’s and Ch. Taylor’s concepts of narrative identity. At each stations of the journey through Kosmopolska, Becker explains the many cultural patterns and codes rooted in Polish identity, but also shares his advice, literary experts, and thus becomes a mediator between cultures.

Narracja tożsamościowa a zjawiska internetowe na przykładzie narracji doomerów

The aim of the article is to present results of qualitative study regarding narratives of people that build identity based on Internet meme, in this case doomer meme. The theoretical framework for the presented study is based on concepts of narrative psychology, mainly the concept of narrative identity by Dan P. McAdams. According to this concept, a person’s identity is constructed through narratives that relate to his/her life, therefore, in order to discover what a person is like, one needs to know the stories he/she tells about himself/herself. In the presented study, participated 82 people aged 14–31 (M = 19; SD = 3.71). Most of the respondents were from Poland (26.58%) and the United States (24%). A questionnaire composed of open questions was used for the study, so the gathered data could be of narrative nature. The analysis of the acquired data was based on the principles of hermeneutic method proposed by Magdalena Żurko and the method of hermeneutic analysis by Ewa Kruchowska. The results shows that a person identifying himself/herself with a doomer is a person with a pessimistic view on the modern world, people and life in general. In life stories of respondents, there were critical moments that made them uphold such identity, e.g. loss of a close relative or major life setbacks.

The Role of Time in the Theory of Narrative Identity in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur

Time has a very important function in considering the identity of a person. It is the factor that brings identity into question. The core of the problem is the question of whether the person is the same as he or she was at another time. The problem of personal identity was one of the most important issues in Paul Ricoeurs philosophy. He considers this problem in the context of time and notes that traditional models of identity as sameness and as selfhood have been entangled in various aporias. He, therefore, proposes two new models of identity that are related in different ways to temporality: character and promise. Character is a model that changes over time through the acquisition or loss of various traits. The promise, on the other hand, is a model that resists the pressure of time attempts to keep a given word. In this way, these two different models create the framework for Ricoeur's concept of narrative identity. In this concept, time enables the development of action in a story. It allows the action to turn around, but it also allows the human being to look at the story of his or her life. Character and promise are models that allow the human being to look at his or her life as a certain temporal entity that is constantly threatened by unforeseen accidents and events but also constantly absorbs them and, through to time, gives the possibility of retrospection leading to synthesis. This synthesis allows us to look at a single life as a whole, belonging to the same person endowed with the character and challenge of keeping a promise.

Narrative identity as a bridge between two historical models of identity: a sociologist’s perspective

The current concepts of identity widespread throughout social sciences are basically linked to two historical models. One is connected to psychology, while the other is related to sociology. In psychology, the concept of identity is traditionally considered to come from the work of Erik Erikson, who considers that identity is to be found in the deep structure of personality. Erikson studies the development of identity. He attributes central importance to the question of man’s inner unity. In sociology, the concept of identity is usually linked to George Herbert Mead, who traces identity back to interaction between the individual and society. According to this, identity is shaped by social conventions, which can be conveyed by a profession, a role or a social situation. As those constantly undergo change, the individual’s identity is continuously changing as well. Erikson’s is regarded as an essentialist approach, whereas Mead’s is called a constructivist one. The problem is not that there are differences between these two historical models, but that their adherents never or hardly ever reflect upon each other’s views. A solution to this problem could be offered through the concept of narrative identity, to which the author of this study attributes a bridging role, due to the recent appearance of several new theories which consciously undertake to “reconcile” the two historical models (“the double track”). The present study starts by describing the development and deepening of the current chasm between the two historical models. Next, it outlines several theories of narrative identity which are becoming increasingly popular both in sociology and in psychology. While the influence of the two historical models can also be detected in the theories of narrative identity, they make a perceivable effort to play a bridging role. If sociology wants to use narratives as sources in the research of identity, it should take into account the fact that the individual is striving to reach a kind of inner identity and stability even in late modern circumstances. Likewise, if narratives are to be used for research in psychology, it must be acknowledged that social circumstances in our modern world are extremely changeable, which hinders the formation of a stable, inner identity core. I suggest that that narrative identity started to be seen as bridge. In sociology, no reflection upon this process has begun yet. The aim of this study is to articulate the problem and to promote further reflection in sociology and psychology as well.

Confrontations with the Past in Samuel Beckett’s Play Krapp’s Last Tape and Wiesław Myśliwski’s Novel Ucho Igielne

The aim of the study is to compare Samuel Beckett’s monodrama Krapp’s Last Tape (1958) and Wiesław Myśliwski’s novel Ucho Igielne (2018) in the context of the construction of time, which, despite the genre and content differences between those literary works, is parallel. The characters are returning to the past by reconstructing the figure of their younger selves and entering into a specific dialogue with them. The relationship between the past and the present is interpreted in the context of Paul Ricoeur’s concept of narrative identity. Each of the works is an unusual study of the old age and the structure of human memory.

Podejście auto/biograficzne w badaniach jakościowych

Teza
 Badania jakościowe, uznawane przez wielu badaczy za subiektywistyczne i przez to mało wiarygodne, wpisują się w jeden z wielu sposobów prowadzących do obiektywnego poznania.
 Omówione koncepcje
 W artykule autorka omawia koncepcję Susan E. Chase dotyczącą wywiadu narracyjnego oraz koncepcję tożsamości narracyjnej w wywiadzie biograficznym Dana McAdamsa. Opisuje także podejście autobiograficzne oraz podejście auto/biograficzne, wskazując na istotne różnice między nimi. Podaje przykłady zastosowań obu podejść.
 Wyniki i wnioski
 Dzięki biografiom i autobiografiom badacz ma możliwość poznania kontekstu sytuacyjnego, środowiskowego i historycznego badanego zjawiska. Auto/biograficzne narracje dostarczają także wiedzy na temat kształtowania się życia psychicznego i całej osobowości człowieka.
 Oryginalność/wartość poznawcza podejścia
 Badania auto/biograficzne wykorzystywane są z powodzeniem w edukacji osób dorosłych. Pełnią wiele ważnych funkcji, m.in. poznawczą, krytyczną, wychowawczą, demaskatorską, terapeutyczną.

Situating the Self in Historical Narratives: “Narrative” and “Larval” Subjects in Uwe Timm’sAm Beispiel meines Brudersand Christoph Hein’sLandnahme

This essay examines the ways in which two contemporary German texts, Uwe Timm’s Am Beispiel meines Bruders and Christoph Hein’s Landnahme, situate silent characters at the centre of world-historical events of the twentieth century. These novels employ multi-perspectival and relational modes of narration to foreground the collaborative effort of narrating such central characters and thus the histories they represent. To investigate these silent characters and the relational mode of narration employed to construct them, I turn to two complementary theories of the self. The first is Paul Ricoeur’s concept of narrative identity, which conjectures that we each employ the “I” to synthesize the events of a lifetime into narrative form in order to conceive of something called the self that is stable and distinct from others. The second is Gilles Deleuze’s concept of the larval subject, which posits that the self is not something essential but, rather, metamorphic, unfixed, and always undergoing a process of becoming through encounters with difference. I argue that these opposing concepts of the self—the Ricoeurian narrative self that seeks synthesis of its various parts and the Deleuzian larval self that resists synthesis and foregrounds difference—help us understand the function of these protagonists who are situated as the empty, unknowable centres around which the events, narrators, and other characters of the novels are organized, as well as the collaborative mode of narration employed by these novels to treat the events of the twentieth century.

Broadening the understanding of employment and identity of Syrian women living in Germany: A biographical study

ABSTRACTWomen who are forced migrants are often seen as a vulnerable group. To gain an understanding of the interplay of (forced) migration, employment and identity of professionally qualified Syrian women living in Germany, a biographical study focusing on the participants’ professional history was conducted. Data gathered through narrative interviews with five women were analyzed using the method of reconstructing narrative identity. Results show the dynamic interplay between social, temporal and self-referential dimensions of identity constructs, with the five intertwined themes: 1) Education as a socio-economic resource, 2) Significance of related persons, 3) Career development expectations vs reality, 4) Professional (re)orientation in Germany and 5) Future employment prospects. The present time is described as a transitional process, highlighting the meaning of work. Positionings in the women’s narratives reveal that traditional collective orientations seem to compete with individual orientations developed in the new cultural context. The results make clear the number of difficult contextual challenges the women have to face, and how strenuous this can be. The concept of narrative identity provides an approach to achieve a better understanding of the intersection of employment and identity against the background of forced migration.

Ludzie są jak fan fiction. Na przykładzie Fanfika Natalii Osińskiej

The article concerns the analysis of Fanfik , a young adult novel written by Natalia Osinska, especially a metaphorical meaning of its title. It is associated with studies of fan culture, that are using a metaphor as a research tool, such as Henry Jenkin's metaphor of the textual poacher, which organizes a kind of framework for better understanding fan creativity. Cultural studies are linked with radical feminism and its postgender thesis to inrterpret the title of the novel in an existential and phenomenological view. The plot of the novel challenges ideological postulates of identity politics based on a concept of narrative identity. Therefore, fan fiction is understood primarily as a social phenomenon. It is opposed to a traditionalist perception of a book itself, which is also analysed in a metaphorical sense, that is connected with the popular sentence: „people are like books”. A purpose of the article is to show that is more likely to say: „people are like fan fiction”.

Huumori ja meänkielisten tilallinen identiteetti

Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan, kuinka kielellisten vähemmistöjen tilallinen identiteetti rakentuu ja muotoutuu huumorin kautta. Tutkimuskohteena on Ruotsin puoleisessa Tornionlaaksossa meänkieltä puhuvat kielelliset vähemmistöt. Tutkimuskysymystä lähestytään narratiivisen identiteetin käsitteen kautta, jolla viitataan siihen, kuinka yksilöt ja ryhmät rakentavat kertomuksen itsestään suhteessa laajempiin yhteiskunnallisiin ja kulttuurisiin diskursseihin. Tutkimus perustuu kahdeksaan syyskuun 2015 ja helmikuun 2016 välillä eri kulttuuritoimijoiden kanssa käytyyn ryhmäkeskusteluun, joissa huumoria lähestyttiin sekä keskustelun temaattisena aiheena että kerronnan muotona. Keskusteluissa kävi ilmi, että meänkieliset kokevat omaavansa erityisen, omanlaatuisen ja poikkeavan huumorintajun, jota luonnehtii mm. härskiys ja rankkuus sekä toiseuden kokemiseen yhdistyvä itseironisuus. Samoin yhdeksi keskeiseksi keskustelun aiheeksi nousi kysymys siitä, onko meänkieli hauska kieli jo itsessään ja tällä tavoin meänkielisten narratiivista identiteettiä luonnehtiva ominaispiirre. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa tuli esille, kuinka itseironia toimii merkittävänä työkaluna vähemmistöidentiteettiä käsiteltäessä.

Exploring the Nature of the Dialogical Self: The Young Widow Memoir

This paper intends to contribute to the ongoing debate on identity construction by offering a textual analysis of two memoirs that depict the experience of young widowhood: Unremarried Widow by Artis Henderson (2014) and When it Rains by Maggie MacKellar (2010). I refer to the texts as young widow memoirs and identify them as a sub-genre of the grief memoir. Drawing on Paul Eakin’s concept of narrative identity and Hubert Hermans’ dialogical self theory, the analysis investigates how the memoirists use narrative to negotiate and represent the multiple subject positions and conflicting voices that arise out of the experience of young widowhood, and how they position selves which existed prior to their loss in relation to their post-loss selves. The memoirs under review are shown to rebuild a relatively stable sense of self out of the multiple voices of loss. This article was based on a paper presented during the IABA-Europe Conference in 2015. The article was submitted on August 25th and published on April 13th 2017.

Negotiating Narrative Identity in Intercultural Contexts - the Role of Applied Theatre

The purpose of this study has been to investigate whether applied drama and theatre can facilitate arenas and methods to support identity-construction, particularly favorable to an intercultural context, investigated through the concept of narrative identity. Identity and identity processes may be extra challenging to people with intercultural backgrounds. Research underpin that how you master your identity affects how you master your life. A participatory action research design, emphasizing the negotiation between theoretical and practical perspectives and different stakeholders was used to address the research question within the setting of intercultural applied theatre projects and aesthetic teacher education. The interpretations and analysis show that aesthetic processes of staging life stories (narratives), facilitate exploring, constructing, re-constructing and meta-reflecting on one's own identity, suggesting that a flexible identity may be an essential tool, a life skill, for people that live in an intercultural context so that they can participate in society in a meaningful and autonomous way.(Published: 13 January, 2017)Citiation: H.M. Haraldsen and S. Ingul. Negotiating Narrative Identity in Intercultural Contexts - the Role of Applied Theatre. Journal for Research in Arts and Sports Education, Vol 1, 2017, pp 69-82. http://dx.doi.org/10.23865/jased.v1.536

The narrative construction of Lesbian identity: A study using Bruner's self-indicators

Starting from a narrative conception of identity, in this paper, we present a description of the process of construction of lesbian identity by applying Bruner's indicators of selfhood. Our main goal is to analyze the personal process of (re)construction of lesbian identity and its connection with socio-cultural context. The autobiographical narratives of eight (8) lesbian women were analyzed and categorized in accordance with a model that describes the construction of homosexual identity in three phases: before Self-definition, Self-definition, and after Self-definition. The analysis conducted allowed us to describe, in an integrated and coherent way, the process that led the participants to a dialogical and personal position in the flow of social discourses about homosexuality they are involved in.

Paul Ricoeur and the “Particular” Case of Autobiography

ABSTRACT This essay explores the relation between Paul Ricoeur's concept of narrative identity and the genre of autobiography. A logical fallacy committed by Ricoeur has contributed to the polarization of the debate. His ambiguous references misled critics to treat autobiography either as a “model case” or a “limit case” of narrative identity.

A narrative inquiry into the experience of negotiating the dominant stories of physical education: living, telling, re-telling and re-living

This paper explores the tensions that surfaced as a teacher of physical education (PE) shifted his ‘stories to live by’ [Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (1999). Storying and restorying ourselves: Narrative and reflection. In A. Y. Chen & J. Van Maanen (Eds.), The reflective spin: Case studies of teachers in higher education transforming action (pp. 15–23). Singapore: World Scientific] around PE. The tensions became explicit when his shifting ‘stories to live by’ bumped against dominant narratives of PE that shaped his professional knowledge landscape. Our inquiry is framed by Dewey's pragmatic ontology [(1938). Experience and education. New York, NY: Collier Books] and Clandinin and Connelly's [(1995). Teachers’ professional knowledge landscapes. New York, NY: Teachers College Press] narrative conception of experience as the living and telling, re-telling and re-living, of stories of experience. We also draw on Connelly and Clandinin's [(1999). Storied identities: Storied landscapes. New York, NY: Teachers College Press] narrative conception of identity as ‘stories to live by’ which is an embodied, fluid and context-dependent view of identity as situated at the interface between personal practical knowledge and professional knowledge landscapes. We begin with situating this work within the broader spectrum of narrative research. We then describe the relational processes of re-telling the stories through narrative inquiry and finally explore the re-living of these stories in order to show the tensions that surfaced as Ashley's ‘stories to live by’ shifted. We engage in the narrative inquiry process of re-telling using the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space (with dimensions of place, sociality, temporality), to show tensions and shifting identities. We conceptualize these tensions as moments of autobiographical revisions [Carr, D. (1986). Time narrative and history. Bloomington: Indiana University Press]. These revisions are seen as a part of a person's struggle for narrative coherence; a struggle to compose a life in the professional knowledge landscape that is meaningful to each individual. In these moments of autobiographical revision we show the reflexive relationship between living, telling, re-telling and re-living of stories. We end by considering what we have learned about our own stories to live by through this process and theoretically and practically suggest ways other teacher educators and physical educators might benefit from engaging in narrative inquiry work.

La reconnaissance factuelle : le récit itératif d’un accident pour rétablir un rapport à soi et à autrui

Ce texte s’inspire des notions d’identité narrative et d’ipséité pour analyser les récits d’accidents de grands brûlés de la face. Ces récits modulables et régulièrement énoncés par les personnes concernées sont considérés à travers deux axes: pour soi et pour autrui. Le “récit pour soi” assure principalement le maintien d’une identité fêlée par un traumatisme grave. Il amène pour le grand brûlé une continuité entre une identité ante et post brûlure que les changements drastiques de l’apparence ont bouleversée. Le “récit pour autrui” se donne quant à lui d’autres finalités. Il vise notamment à faciliter l’identification des séquelles et à diminuer ainsi l’inconfort interactionnel. Quelles que soient les formes variées qu’ils peuvent prendre, ces deux types récits deviennent, dans leur ensemble, l’expression d’une lutte pour la reconnaissance menée par le grand brûlé pour rétablir un rapport aussi bien à soi qu’à autrui.