Narrative Work Research Articles

Reception of the political news narratives in readers’ responses: multimodality and intertextuality

Developed in the field of international relations, the theory of the strategic narrative (Miskimmon et al., 2013; 2017 among others) identifies it as a means for political actors to construct a shared meaning of international politics, and to shape the perceptions, beliefs, and behaviour of domestic and international actors. The authors of the theory maintain that the explanation of the workings of the strategic narrative presumes the study of its formation, projection, and reception. Such explanation brings together various scholarly fields aimed at the search of the lacking methodology that demonstrates how the formation, projection, and reception aspects of the strategic narrative work together as a triptych. The proposed article approaches this problem from the perspective of cognitive linguistics that studies conceptual grounds for verbally delivered information. The article forwards and tests a novel methodological framework, which posits a cognitive ontology of the information, featured verbally and visually, as the feasible grounds for tracking regularities in the simultaneous dynamics of the three narrative aspects. The article focuses on the projection / reception narrative aspects, represented in a media news text and the readers’ responses to it – the issue relevant for the linguistic field of intertextuality. Methodologically and thematically, the article continues the previous research (Zhabotynska & Velivchenko, 2019; Zhabotynska & Ryzhova, 2022; Chaban et al. 2023; Chaban et al. 2024 among others) of the formation / projection aspects of the strategic narrative featured in a news media text.

INTERTEXTUALITY FROM THE DISCOURSE LINGUISTICS: THE STORIES OF BADIAA AMIN AS A MODEL

This research examines the diversity of intertextual techniques in the narrative works of Iraqi writer Badiaa Amin, attributed to her rich cultural heritage and encyclopedic knowledge. Amin's stories engage with familiar texts, incorporating elements from other worlds that transform the narrative with new meanings. This interweaving creates a unique "textual mosaic" shaped by content, context, and events. Significantly, the study employs a novel approach to linguistic intertextuality based on the discourse analysis framework of German critic Kirsten Adamzik. By employing discourse analysis, it explores the interconnectedness of texts and the interactive relationship between the invoked text and the new text. Additionally, it delves into the symbolic dimensions linking these texts and examines the metaphorical relationships among them, classifying these intertextualities based on their modalities. The research also considers how these invoked texts relate to the ideologies Amin seeks to convey in her stories.

Gender Intersectionality Representation in Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant

Boule de Suif is considered one of the best short stories written by Guy de Maupassant. This study is based on a feminist perspective applying a narrative approach to provide an overview of the intersectionality of gender in Guy de Maupassant's narrative work, The Boule de Suif. Specifically, the narrative model was chosen as an approach that focuses on the individual stories of the characters within the work. Narrative identification is important for unraveling issues of gender intersectionality that arise in unequal phenomena. From the process of analysis, it is clear that the character Boule de Suif experiences the phenomenon of intersectionality of gender in the categories of gender, social class and identity in a situation of mutual support, trying to protect themselves from a violent war.

Toward engaged narratology

Abstract In recent years, strands of contemporary narrative theory have taken a turn toward a politically, socially, and environmentally conscious field of study that could be characterized as ‘engaged narratology.’ Creating and disseminating knowledge about how narratives work, these theories emphasize that narrative forms and strategies are neither universal nor neutral; they carry out, but can also challenge, systems of inequality and marginalization. They also suggest new combinations of theory and activism, pedagogical interventions, and community engagement models, offering tools to create social justice. This article outlines some of these recent developments and reflects on the possibilities of ‘engaged narratology’: how it relates to engaged research and what kinds of practices have been developed so far. As an example of engaged narratological work, it discusses the shared close reading of Roxane Gay’s book Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body (2017) in a multidisciplinary narrative medicine classroom.

What Counts as (Evidence of) Narrow Aesthetic Cognitivism

In this paper I argue that the existing arguments for narrow aesthetic cognitivism are not valid. The reason is that the proponents of the view have mostly focused on theoretical debates rather than on empirical studies of the matter. I make my argument in five steps. First, I distinguish narrow from broad aesthetic cognitivism. Second, I specify the scope of the narrow claim and suggest that narrow aesthetic cognitivism is not about art in general but about narrative fictional works. Third, I point out that arguments in favor of the possibility of such works expressing truth do not discuss how truth is justified. Fourth, I concede that justification of truths in fictional and nonfictional works in the end rests on the experiences outside of the work but argue that it is an empirical matter whether belief has been acquired or not. Fifth, I demonstrate that the most recentanalysis on belief-acquisition evinces that fiction is a not an effective vehicle for imparting beliefs. I conclude with a discussionof what would count as evidence in favor of aesthetic cognitivism.

After the Crisis: Explaining stories of professional identity growth from collective action

Emergent forms of collaboration are central to societies’ response to crises like natural disaster, refugee migration and pandemics. Even though individuals’ participation in such collective action may be short-lived, recent studies propose it can inspire enduring professional role change as people return to their everyday work post-crisis. Yet, previous research does not focus on the divergent stories participants tell about the crisis years afterward and what it meant for them professionally. Through a grounded study of healthcare workers involved in the 2003 Toronto SARS outbreak, we examine varied narratives of professional identity growth following collective action in crisis. Years after SARS, participants told diverse stories about the crisis as an event that suspended, affirmed or even expanded their professional identities. Participants with narratives of identity suspension saw SARS as an event lacking professional relevance. Narratives of identity affirmation and expansion, however, emphasized growth and inspiration for participants’ professional roles post-crisis. We theorize how interactions within collective responses can foster growth narratives, when they enhance meanings central to participants’ professional identities and by affording follow-on interactions that translate these meanings into role change. We contribute new insight on how collective action in crisis can lead to professional role change post-crisis, how fragmented perspectives affect capacity for collective action in intermittent crises, and the role of follow-on interactions in professionals’ narrative identity work.

Emotion, memory and storytelling: postmemorial emotion work in Vietnamese American graphic narratives

The article demonstrates how graphic narratives become a medium for managing inherited emotions in Vietnamese American second-generation works, GB Tran’s Vietnamerica and Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do. Highlighting the intergenerational transmission of emotions in Vietnamese American families through parental stories about the Vietnam War, the article argues that the authors’ attempts to represent these family stories transform graphic literature into a medium for postmemorial emotion work. While drawing theoretical insights from the sociology of emotions, the study employs textual analysis to thematically close read Vietnamerica and The Best We Could Do to understand the graphic strategies that aid emotion work. The graphic recreation of stories, which are narrativised versions of their inherited trauma memories, can offer potential trauma resolution and autobiographical clarity while fostering communal bonding. The analysis finds that in the works, emotion work is facilitated by various literary strategies, such as affective genealogies, affective geographies, affective pasts, and postmemorial re-embodiment. In a broader sense, the study concludes that graphic narrative strategies can aid in postmemorial emotion work for second-generation refugees grappling with inherited trauma, incoherent autobiographical knowledge, and detachment from the community or family.

A Dialogical Self Approach to Self-Innovation and Narrative Continuity in Retirement From Elite Sport

This case study aims to uncover the processes of narrative change in retirement from elite sport. Using Dialogical Self Theory, we examined resistance to retirement and narrative work in a recently retired, Swiss, male elite athlete from an individual sport. Two narrative interviews at 3-months and 1-year post retirement were analyzed using a holistic-content analysis, and an analysis of multivoicedness and innovative moments. We identified 39 I-positions and key innovative moments which were exceptions to the athlete’s problematic narrative and supported athletic retirement. Importantly, results demonstrate that the participant’s self-innovation began proactively before retirement, was necessitated by dialogue and supported by the introduction of a new future-oriented position, the position I-as-healing. Innovation continued after retirement and the position I-as self-reflective allowed the athlete to observe changes to his self-concept and restore continuity. Based on our findings, athletes should be supported in accessing a variety of I-positions to enable rich inner dialogue before they approach retirement from elite sport. Reflective practices which encourage meta-positions and help trace continuity far into their futures may also be advantageous. Practical considerations for the identification of I-positions in personal narratives during transitions are discussed.

“The Past is a Foreign Country”: Time Shelter and exploring dementia and memory impairment representation in literature and the arts

Abstract Background Due to ageing populations, the WHO estimates that by 2050 the number of people living with dementia worldwide will more than triple to 152 million. For those working in geriatric medicine and memory services, we regularly interact with and advocate for patients coming to terms with memory impairments. One common theme often encountered during the patient dementia and cognitive impairment diagnosis journey is fear of loss of the sense of “self”, which can be informed by the negative and often inaccurate cultural narrative around dementia. Methods Recent promising breakthroughs in the development of disease modifying medications for Alzheimer’s disease, as well as greater emphasis on lifelong brain health and earlier diagnosis, represents a potential source of hope. This presentation will aim to explore the cultural narrative around the “lived experience” of dementia, which is often extremely negative and emphasises hopelessness. We look to some of the most commonly referenced narrative works, which can often form the foundation of many patient's prior knowledge of cognitive impairment and dementia before coming to the memory clinic. Results This presentation aims to examine the narrative works familiar to many patients (such as “The Father” and “Still Alice”) as well as some more recent efforts, including this year’s International Booker Prize-winning novel “Time Shelter” by Georgi Gospodinov. This darkly humorous book describes the arrival of a strange new ‘clinic for the past’ offering promising treatment for people with dementia. Conclusion Many works of narrative fiction explore dementia and memory impairment. While some are well-informed and researched, many lack empathy or even clinical accuracy. Narrative works can have an enormous impact on the widespread perception and understanding of diseases such as dementia. By exploring the potential for sensitive and accurate representation of dementia in popular culture, we aim to promote equity in this vulnerable and growing population.

The Narrative Function of “Soundscape” in Eileen Chang’s Novels in the Auditory Narrative Perspective——Taking Red Rose and White Rose as an Example

Auditory narrative is the expression and writing related auditory perception in narrative works. Eileen Chang’s Novels embody rich sensory narratives and take the auditory soundscape as a typical narrative. Scholar Fu Xiuyan believes that auscultating the soundscape with auditory narrative theory can “re-listen” to the classics and achieve the purpose of admonishing the “deafness” of literary research. Based on the theory of “auditory narrative” proposed by Fu Xiuyan, this paper selects the soundscape in Eileen Chang’s typical novel Red Rose and White Rose to analyze, and further explores the relationship between Soundscape Construction and Character Creation, Soundscape Cutting and Story Building, as well as Soundscape Contrast and Aesthetic Embodiment, in order to further supplement and enrich the new issues in the new field of Eileen Chang studies.

Replacing a pillar of Tibetan Buddhist historiography: on the redactions of the so-called Pillar Testament (bKa’-chems-ka-khol-ma)

Abstract This article explores the unmined textual history of one of Tibet's most influential historiographies, the Pillar Testament (bKa’-chems-ka-khol-ma), usually dated to the eleventh or the twelfth century. Drawing on previously known and unknown witnesses, the article compares a variety of narratives across most extant redactions. In doing so, it finds that the redaction chiefly consulted by scholars to date is an expanded and contaminated version that is notably later than previously assumed. Instead, another and heretofore largely neglected witness emerges as the most archaic extant redaction. The textual comparisons spotlight a wide range of alterations in the work's narratives and thus demonstrate how perceptions of early Tibetan historical episodes shifted over time. Such changes affected remembrance of Sino-Tibetan imperial relations, the origins of Buddhism and writing in Tibet and the genealogy of its emperors, among other things. The article concludes by critically discussing the witnesses’ dating and the hope we may place in the hunt for the work's illustrious but elusive original.

From the Sidelines to the Frontlines: Black Student-Athlete Organizations as Counterspaces at Predominantly White Institutions

Abstract: Significant moments of Black college athlete activism and mobilization marked 2020. One noticeable way Black college athletes mobilized was by creating Black student-athlete organizations (BSAOs). Given college athletics’ long-standing relationship to racism and racial capitalism, it is important to understand how BSAOs function within the athletic subculture and how they may facilitate belonging and community for Black college athletes. Thus, this study explored the purpose and function of BSAOs and the impact of engagement in these organizations on Black college athletes’ experiences at PWIs. Grounded in Case and Hunter’s (2012) conceptualization of counterspaces, the findings reveal insights related to acts of resistance, narrative identity work, and direct relational transactions. The paper concludes with implications for student leaders, practitioners, and future research.

When Play Reveals the Ache: Introducing Co-constructive Patient Simulation for Narrative Practitioners in Medical Education.

Despite the ubiquity of healthcare simulation and the humanities in medical education, the two domains of learning remain unintegrated. The stories suffused within healthcare simulation have thus remained unshaped by the developments of narrative medicine and the health humanities. Healthcare simulation, in turn, has yet to utilize concepts like co-construction and narrative competence to enrich learners' understanding of patient experience alongside their clinical competencies. To create a conceptual bridge between these two fields (including narrative-based inquiry more broadly), we redescribe narrative competence via Ronald Heifetz's distinction of "technical" and "adaptive" challenges outlined in his adaptive leadership model. Heifetz, we argue, enriches learners' self-understanding of the unique demands of cultivating narrative competence, which can be both elucidated on the page and tested within the charged yet supportive simulation environment. We introduce Co-constructive Patient Simulation (CCPS) to demonstrate how working with simulated patients can support narrative work by drawing on the clinical vicissitudes of learners in the formulation and enactment of case studies. The three movements of CCPS-resensing, retelling, and retooling-told through learner experiences, describe the affinities and divergences between narrative medicine's sequence of attention, representation, and affiliation; Montello's three forms of narrative competence (departure, performance, change), and Heifetz's three steps (observe, interpret, and intervene) of adaptive leadership.

PRESENCIA DE VICTORIA URBANO

Victoria Urbano (1926-1984) is a recognized but little studied Costa Rican writer who lived in USA, where she carried out her academic activity at a university in Texas and also promoted women’s literature. This essay analyzes part of her poetic and narrative work.

Una disputa de cos present. Controvèrsies en la mort de Josep Maria de Sagarra (1894–1961)

This article analyzes the different reactions that followed the death of the writer Josep Maria de Sagarra in 1961, one of the most popular authors in 20th-century Catalan culture, for his poetic and narrative work, journalism, and especially theater. In the context of the Franco dictatorship, Sagarra’s funeral became a large-scale political act, organized and used by the authorities to show their capacity to integrate an author who had written all of his significant work in the Catalan language. Sagarra lived between two worlds, with some links to the cultural resistance, but publicly signified by his willingness to adapt to the official sphere. For this reason, the Francoist authorities took a great interest in capitalizing on the funeral, which in turn left clandestine Catalanism without a civic-political reference. The article details the clear awareness of the official initiative, widely disseminated through the press, as well as the reactions of the opposition sectors, in restricted-circulation publications and on exile platforms. These controversies about Sagarra’s civic and political role were only on a few occasions translated to the evaluation of his work.

“Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”: Ending a Departmental Life

Carolyn and Art tell the story of cleaning out their joint departmental office after retiring from University of South Florida. They detail the process and feelings of alienation and sadness they have about leaving their departmental home of Communication amidst a mobbing of faculty rebelling against their work in narrative and autoethnography and refusing to communicate to mediate disagreements.

BAAHUBALI: THE BEGINNING & BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

“The only reason I would write a sequel is if I were struck by an idea that I felt to be equal to the original. Too many sequels diminish the original.” ~ Dean KoontzA sequel is a production of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues or expands upon the plot of some earlier work. When we talk about the narrative work of fiction, a sequel showcases events set in the same timeline and set as an earlier work, usually following the events of that work.In many cases, the sequel proceeds with the same elements of the existing story, often with the same characters and settings. A sequel can lead to a series, in which key characters appear repeatedly for eg. ‘The Dhoom franchise’. The Indian film industry is known for the sequels even though most of them are not as successful as the prequel. Most of the sequels either repeated the entire cast in a different storyline while some of them were made with a few popular characters of a successful movie. ‘Padmashree Doctor Saroj Kumar ‘is an example for the same as the movie was made with three main characters (Saroj Kumar, Pacchalam Bhasi, and Rafeeque) of its prequel ‘Udayananu Thaaram’.‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ is one of the most successful movies ever made in India. The movie was released in 2015 and the sequel, ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ was released in 2017 and became the biggest block buster of all time. Even though surpassing the collection records of the prequel there are many flaws and unanswered questions regarding ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’.This study compares and analyses ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ as a perfect sequel in light of aspects like the story, screenplay, character portrayal and quality like graphics and other aspects are studied. ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ has several elements which fail to connect with the first film. This study will also analyze the reasons behind the elements that failed to do justice to the prequel.

Abdullah Bakhtani’s Contributions to Pashto Drama: A Study of Sidhu Malang

In Pashto literature, Abdullah Bakhtani's narrative works have a notable and distinctive place. The author's narrative works, especially his tragedies (Sidhu Malang), give sharp criticism of immoral acts and behavior as well as important subjects relevant to modern society at large. His pieces provide vivid descriptions of the political struggle for social reforms that was going on at the time. Bakhtani draws inspiration from the Pashtun environment and only uses Pashtun characters in his story compositions. While faithfully portraying every aspect of Chersi's life, the drama "Sidhu Malang" sharply condemns the struggles that he faces. Young Pashtun people have come under fire and criticism for their disgusting and immoral behavior, which they have done in the name of self-expression and intoxication. The Sidhu Malang drama's structure complies with the essential rules of theater composition. In connection to other dramatic components, the action, characters, place, and time are all structured in a logical and cohesive way. The characters' words and deeds have the most significance. The play has been studied in great detail.

Jewish Muslims in The Handsome Jew and Don’t Leave Me Here Alone: Conversion, Identity, and Liminality

The present article addresses the complex interplay of boundaries, belonging, and modes of identity and investigates the space between the distinct boundaries of religious identities. It focuses on the Jewish Muslim identity as it defies categorization and plays out in the liminal space of the Jewish Muslims, a space of fluid and blurred contours, haunted by ancestral religion and inherited culture, and obsessed by a crucial need to reconstruct a new sense of self. The article explores these concepts by referring to two narrative works: Ali Al-Muqri’s The Handsome Jew and Ihsan Abdel Quddous’s Don’t Leave Me Here Alone, which extensively elaborate on the relationship between conversion, identity, and liminality. It argues that Jewish Muslims stay within a liminal space due to their inability to forget their past and assimilate into the present, and that a non-binary Jewish Muslim subject lives in a place that borders the Jewish and Muslim spaces but never crosses into either position completely. The study aims to investigate discourses, as presented in the two texts under discussion, that construct boundaries between individuals of different religious affiliations and the motives for such constructions, and it tries to demonstrate the extent to which liminality can be used as an apt metaphor to define the life of Jewish converts to Islam.

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.