Narratives Of Hope Research Articles

Leveraging Language(s): Reframing Rhetorics of Fear With Narratives of Agency and Hope

AbstractThis department explores how teachers can sustain students’ multilingual literacies and reimagine literacy learning across multiple contexts in conversation with researchers, practitioners, and communities.

Pluralism

Pluralism

리앙(李昻)의 『화장한 피의 위령제(彩妝血祭)』를 통해 본 애도의 정치

“A Powdered Bloody Sacrifice for Departed Souls,” Li Ang’s novella published in 1997, is a narrative of mourning for the victims killed in the February 28th Incident of 1947 and by the subsequent white terror. At the same time, it is a narrative of consolation and hope for the survivors burdened to mourn the departed. We find two axes in the story. A family memorial service for consoling the souls is one axis, and the pain and discord surrounding the family history of Mother Wang who leads the opposition is the other. The juxtaposition of a “private” family memorial service and a “public” sacrifice for the departed souls of the “February 28th” victims is related to the narrative structure that employs two narrators: the main narrator and a co-narrator. It is also related to the “death photos” that exist only as hearsay. The truthfulness of the photos is emphasized more by not turning up, and that leads to a realization that the truth remains placed in an oppressive environment. This helps foster the spirit of resistance and solidarity. The suicide of Mother Wang in “A Powdered Bloody Sacrifice for Departed Souls” can be seen as the result of the remorsefulness for not having protected her son from the violence of the powerful, and of the double guilty conscience about her husband and her son. She casts her body as an expression of her wishes that the lamp that bears three names, those of her diseased uncle died in the February 28th, of her husband and her son killed in the white terror, may drift afar. This demonstrates her wishes for the realization of justice and the revelation of historical truth. “A Powdered Bloody Sacrifice for Departed Souls” by Li Ang is consistent with Judith Butler’s idea for transforming the sorrow of a community into the power of political activity. Mourning for the departed in a world of violent oppression is bound to be postponed indefinitely. It might even be said that the mourner becomes the object of the mourning. The sorrow that can be expressed only by suicide calls for a clearer, louder voice of the community. “A Powdered Bloody Sacrifice for Departed Souls” is a response to such a calling.

From 'having' to 'being': self-worth and the current crisis of American society.

With growing inequality, the American dream is becoming less effective as a collective myth. With its focus on material success, competition and self-reliance, the intensified diffusion of neoliberal scripts of the self is leading the upper-middle class toward a mental health crisis while the working class and low-income groups do not have the resources needed to live the dream. African Americans, Latinos and undocumented immigrants, who are presumed to lack self-reliance, face more rigid boundaries. One possible way forward is broadening cultural membership by promoting new narratives of hope centered on a plurality of criteria of worth, 'ordinary universalism' and destigmatizing stigmatized groups.

Believing in a Positive Future as a Form of Stigma Resistance: Narratives of Denied Expungement-Seekers

ABSTRACTA large body of work documents how people contest and refute stigmatized definitions of themselves. Yet, research that examines the role of emotion displays in stigma resistance remains sparse. To begin to fill this gap, I analyze follow-up interview data with 17 people who, because of their past felony convictions, were deemed ineligible for expungement, a court-ordered destruction of the criminal record history. Overall, participants seized on the interview setting to challenge stigmatizing definitions of themselves. There were two key ways in which this occurred. First, participants offered optimistic accounts of their future well-being. These hopeful narratives suggested that, although they were aware of how people with criminal records are devalued, they did not accept a view of themselves as damaged. Second, participants drew on emotion displays of anger with the criminal justice system to underscore that they were not deserving of the discrimination they faced. Implications for research on the sociology of stigma and emotions are discussed.

Dying in Service to a Dangerous Idea: Organising the Foundations of an African Jubilee Movement

Jubilee is a revolutionary idea that many generations have struggled to act on. Africa is seeking to overcome centuries of colonialism and its extractive structures. Yet this is the African century where African population growth and youthful energy will profoundly impact the globe – for good or ill. Having courage to enact Jubilee principles through grassroots movements could see the creation of a uniquely African economy good for people and the environment that could bless the nations. We can do this by implementing a combination of different movement principles: 1) prayer and discipleship; 2) developing new organisational wineskins; 3) building peace and deep relationships; 4) communicating a unifying and hopeful narrative; 5) forging new identities; 6) formulating concrete plans and communicating clear demands; and 7) persisting in our action even through difficulties. If African movements can tap into the deep divine well of courage and strength to die in service to God’s jubilee calling then perhaps we will see a continent changed forever. Dying each day to self, we cannot rest until we hand over this vision to the next generation.

Affective dark tourism encounters: Rikuzentakata after the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster

ABSTRACT This article discusses the case of Rikuzentakata, a town almost completely destroyed by the 2011 tsunami provoked by the Great East Japan Disaster. It shows how the town has directed some of its recovery efforts toward the development of a specific form of post-disaster tourism. Two main strategies implemented by the local authorities are analyzed in detail: first, the celebration of Ipponmatsu, or the Miracle Pine, a symbol of resilience in the face of devastation; second, the promotion of Rikuzentakata as the ‘Hiroshima of the North’. Both these discourses were based on the engineering and the apprehension of specific affective post-disaster atmospheres and perceived by residents and local authorities as key for attracting international visitors. Our analysis highlights how a politics of affect built around the tsunami has been spatialized and grounded using material landmarks (The Miracle Pine), but also narratives of hope and resilience based on comparisons with Hiroshima. Such affective atmospheres, we conclude, were planned and performed as an attempt to facilitate cross-cultural communication and allow visitors to contemplate death and disaster on their own terms, while at the same time involving them in a broader processes of healing from trauma and recovery for Rikuzentakata and its residents.

Sexual torture among Arabic-speaking Shi'a Muslim men and women in Iraq: Barriers to healing and finding meaning.

Rape and sexual torture are frequent experiences among torture survivors, but relatively little is known about how victims respond to and find meaning in these experiences. This study used secondary qualitative interview data from 47 male and female Shi'a Arab victims and survivors of sexual torture and rape in Saddam Hussein's Iraq to examine how sexual torture affected them, what were the barriers to healing, how they found meaning in their experiences, and how their experiences varied by gender. Respondents experienced profound psychological effects that lasted for years, including: shame, feeling broken and prematurely aged, and wanting to isolate themselves from others. Most female victims who were unmarried at the time of sexual torture never got married. Many survivors found meaning in their experiences by defining their suffering as unjust, placing their experience in the context of a hopeful narrative of Iraqi history, turning to religion, and calling for vengeance upon their persecutors. The results of this study show how survivors of sexual torture, most of whom did not receive psychological treatment, draw upon their own resources to find meaning in existential trauma.

A Model of Competing Narratives

We formalize the argument that political disagreements can be traced to a “clash of narratives.” Drawing on the “Bayesian Networks” literature, we represent a narrative by a causal model that maps actions into consequences, weaving a selection of other random variables into the story. Narratives generate beliefs by interpreting long-run correlations between these variables. An equilibrium is defined as a probability distribution over narrative-policy pairs that maximize a representative agent's anticipatory utility, capturing the idea that people are drawn to hopeful narratives. Our equilibrium analysis sheds light on the structure of prevailing narratives, the variables they involve, the policies they sustain, and their contribution to political polarization. (JEL D72, D83, D85, F52)

Inclusivity in Education Among Sama-Bajaos in Bohol, Philippines: A Tracer Study

The Sama-Bajaos, a nomad ethnic tribe, came to Bohol from Zamboanga in western Mindanao. Known as “sea gypsies,” they lived on boat-houses along Tagbilaran Strait while living as fishers and mendicants in the streets and ports of Tagbilaran City, Bohol. The community lives below the poverty line. This study aimed to look into the impact of the educational intervention program for the Sama-Bajao community initiated by the Provincial Government of Bohol in collaboration with the University of Bohol - Graduate School and Professional Studies in 2007. As a qualitative research, this study stitches the narratives of high school students, college graduates, and their community leaders. The study made use of data analysis, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), In-depth Interview (IDI) and Key Informant Interview (KII). The study found out that the beneficiaries of the program are now included in the formal educational programs. The community has produced college graduates in recent years who are now working for their community. The study established that the program has made a significant impact in the lives of the beneficiaries, their families, and community. Narratives of hope and success are integrated in the write-up to highlight the importance of inclusivity in education that provides equity in terms of knowledge-acquisition, talent and skills development, and opportunities for gainful employment among the cultural minorities.

Inclusivity in Education Among Sama-Bajaos in Bohol, Philippines: A Tracer Study

The Sama-Bajaos, a nomad ethnic tribe, came to Bohol from Zamboanga in western Mindanao. Known as “sea gypsies,” they lived in boat houses along Tagbilaran Strait while living as fishers and mendicants in the streets and ports of Tagbilaran City, Bohol. The community lives below the poverty line. This study aimed to look into the impact of the educational intervention program for the Sama-Bajao community initiated by the Provincial Government of Bohol in collaboration with the University of Bohol - Graduate School and Professional Studies in 2007. As qualitative research, this study stitches the narratives of high school students, college graduates, and their community leaders. The study made use of data analysis, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), In-depth Interview (IDI), and Key Informant Interview (KII). The study found that the beneficiaries of the program are now included in formal educational programs. The community has produced college graduates in recent years who are now working for their community. The study established that the program has made a significant impact on the lives of the beneficiaries, their families, and the community. Narratives of hope and success are integrated with the write-up to highlight the importance of inclusivity in education that provides equity in terms of knowledge acquisition, talent and skills development, and opportunities for gainful employment among cultural minorities.

A year of writing ‘dangerously’: a narrative of hope

ABSTRACTThis paper documents a year of writing dangerously to discover creative forms of inquiry that generate impact through emotional resonance. Such writing is defined as ‘dangerous’, as it involves exploring non-traditional and creative approaches, such as expressive, narrative, embodied and poetic writing. ‘Dangerous’ writing is often motivated by having the end in sight, as an awareness of limited time can help academics to prioritise personally meaningful work. Writing dangerously embodies an individual’s fundamental beliefs about an academic career worth having.

NARRATING THE KENYAN NATION IN DIFFERENT COLOURS

At a time like now when the Kenyan nation is undergoing social, economic, political, cultural, and other forms of turmoil, the society needs stories that would help it rethink its identity(ies). The society needs narratives of renewal and hope, but which at the same time seek to restore its humanity. This paper explores the place of literature and literary writers in the discourse on the identity question through a close reading of the novel Different Colours by Ng’ang’a Mbugua. The paper argues that Different Colours is a modern allegory on and of Kenya and the Kenyan society. The image(s) evoked and provoked by the “different colours” of the title, the artists’ world in the text and the multiplicity of hues and shades that form the painting at the centre of the narrative recall the attempt to imagine contemporary Kenya. Producing a painting is no different from imagining and constructing a nation out of the different hues of races, tribes, religions, and cultures that is a country like Kenya. This paper, therefore, pursues the argument that Different Colours is a modern tale that creatively plays with the possibilities of imagining and moralising about Kenya as a nation formed out of the diversity of identities that are found within her.

An exploration of young people’s narratives of hope following experience of psychosis

ABSTRACT Aims To expand understandings of how young people with psychosis experience hope. This included to which factors young people attributed changes in their hopefulness and the role played by professionals and others with lived experience. Method Ten young people recovering from an experience of psychosis were interviewed using narrative methodology. Results The experience of hope as an overarching strand throughout the narratives had three common elements: sense of belonging, which included social inclusion, the importance of information and the significance of planning and occupation. Professionals played an important role in facilitating small steps forwards. Conclusions The findings suggest the importance to young people of a sense of belonging and achieving small goals to facilitate hopeful thinking and, for clinicians, the value of supporting new peer relationships and meaningful occupation.

Tourism, mood and affect: Narratives of loss and hope

Beyond looking to emotion and affect for the purpose of understanding better the tourist experience in itself, this article considers what affect produced through tourism might do vis-à-vis our relationship with the world around us. With a particular focus on the production of ‘hopeful mood’, the article discusses the links between affect and tourism narratives of loss and of hope performed in two New Zealand tourism destinations. That both loss and hope narratives are produced in both destinations illustrates not only how tourism narratives are ‘affective’, but also that the affect produced is potentially selective. The implications of these narratives for tourism’s hopeful ‘worldmaking’ capacities are considered, along with suggested further avenues for research on tourism narratives, mood and affect.

Building a dangerous outpost in the Green Mountain State: A case study of educator preparation policymaking

Poised at a bifurcation, the educator preparation community in Vermont faced either the adoption of a generic product for the assessment of initial educator licensure candidates or the comprehensive revision of a longstanding state-based assessment portfolio. Using a case study approach and narrative methods, specifically the Narrative Policy Framework (McBeth, Jones, & Shanahan, 2014), the authors analyze a project in which teacher educators intervened to shape the direction of educator preparation policymaking by designing an innovative assessment portfolio and a collaborative calibration system. The analysis reveals insights about the policymaking arena and demonstrates the value of education-related policymaking that includes teacher educators as active agents in collaboration with state personnel and policymakers. The case contributes to the notion of policymaking as a narrative process. In this case, a narrative of hope emerged as a guiding storyline.

Spaces of hope? Youth perspectives on health and wellness in indigenous communities

This article addresses an apparent paradox between academic and policy depictions of American Indian reservations as “broken” and “unhealthy” places, and Indigenous youth perceptions of reservations as spaces of “health” and “wellness.” Public health literature often frames reservations as damaged, health-denying places, chronicling the extraordinarily high rates of suicide, substance abuse, as well as vast health disparities. Despite these dire statistics, our research with Native youth in San Diego County found that young people chose to primarily emphasize their positive experiences with, and attachments to, their reservations. In this article, we share strength- and desire-based narratives to explore how reservations can serve as spaces of wellness for Indigenous youth, despite ongoing settler colonial harm. We seek to expand the discussion on the unintended consequences of deficit-centered scholarship by arguing that health research should also engage with the narratives of hope and desire that are reflective of the way many Native youth feel about their communities. In this article, we urge scholars and practitioners to rethink how we conduct health research to include methodologies that listen to the narratives and experiences of those who, day in and day out, navigate settler colonial landscapes, while continuing to create spaces of hope and healing.

Mitochondrial donation, patient engagement and narratives of hope.

This article develops the sociology of hope and patient engagement by exploring how patients' perceptions and actions are shaped by narratives of hope surrounding the clinical introduction of novel reproductive techniques. In 2015, after extensive public debates, the UK became the first country to legalise a mitochondrial donation technique aimed at preventing the transmission of inherited disorders. The article draws on the accounts of twenty-two women of reproductive age who are at risk of having a child with mitochondrial disease and would be the potential target of the technique. We explore the extent to which our participants engaged with the public debates and how they accounted for their support of mitochondrial donation. We show that while the majority of our participants were in favour of legalisation, they did not necessarily wish to use the technique themselves. We found that hope was multi-faceted, involving hope for self, hope for family and hope for society. We conclude by considering the implications of hope narratives for patients and families and the important but potentially limited role that patients can play as advocates for technology.

Framing the women’s AFL: contested spaces and emerging narratives of hope and opportunity for women in sport

This article explores historical, contemporary and emerging sites of contestation within sports, with a particular focus on women’s Australian Rules football in Australia. Sport played out on the field, in the media, popular culture, governance and legal arenas are positioned in this article as contested public spaces. The increasing presence of women in these spaces is seen as a shift towards a more socially just sporting space. With an emphasis on the contemporary sporting landscape and the historical commencement of the national women’s Australian Football League Women (AFLW) competition in February 2017, the evolution of this sport as a contested space can be understood as it relates to narratives of hope and opportunity for women. With overwhelming public feeling that the first AFLW season was a success, it is time to pause and consider what this development means for elite women’s sport, and women in contemporary Australian society more broadly.

“Wagering Life” in the Petro-City: Embodied Ecologies of Oil Flow, Capitalism, and Justice in Esmeraldas, Ecuador

This article uses a political ecology approach to examine how urban residents of the refinery city of Esmeraldas “wager life” under conditions of social and chemical toxicity associated with oil capitalism. The article draws on the scholarship on affective economies and critical oil geographies to trace the knotting of social reproduction and oil capital in Esmeraldas and to illustrate how “cruel optimisms” (Berlant 2011) allow city-dwellers to make sense of everyday life amidst frontier-style petro-capitalism. Focusing on personal narratives of social reproduction, affect, and hope in the city, the article first argues that “justice” can be contradictory and politically ambivalent and, second, challenges fixed readings of resistance, refusal, or submission in resource extraction–dominated sites. Rather than presupposing resistance to petro-capitalism or submission to its workings, the article illustrates the liveliness of urban justice struggles and how attention to embodied ecologies and affective oil economies deepens scholarship on social justice. Key Words: cruel optimisms, environmental justice, petro-capital, social reproduction, urban political ecology.