Workshops
in
Narrative
Analysis
Starting in Fall 2002 I offer workshops in ‘Narrative Analysis’.
The aim of these workshops is to learn how to work with narrative data.
My focus will be on narratives in interaction, and their
use in ‘Identity Work’.
ü
One-Day Workshop
ü
Two-Days Workshop
This workshop targets
students in the social sciences
o
who are interested
in the analysis of particular social (and personal) phenomena
o
who are using
stories and story-telling as tools to analyze these social phenomena
o
who approach
social phenomena as experiential and cultural phenomena through the
lens of personal experience and identity-formation (development)
The workshop’s focus is on
the analysis of narratives as ‘ordering devices’ for
o
the world that
is depicted within the story (characters in the ‘there + then’)
o
the world of
the interaction (characters in the ‘here + now’)
o
the formation
of a sense of self (and identity)
The workshop is offered in
three different formats:
o
a four-hour
workshop gives a brief theoretical introduction and analyses two
narrative settings – using video material on the topics of ‘adolescence’
o
a one-day
workshop gives a broader theoretical introduction, with three examples
on issues of ‘adolescence’ and ‘gender’ and a second unit in which the projects of the participants
will be discussed
o
a two-days
workshop in addition will allow more detailed work with data from
participants’ own research projects (these data need to be distributed
beforehand among the participants)
In terms of the overall
approach, it should be noted that narratives will be analyzed as ‘interactively
achieved’, i.e., the analysis will not only focus on how the content
and structure of the narratives point to what is of interest to us as
researchers, but also how the telling of the narratives is embedded in the
communicative situation, and how what the interactants are accomplishing in
that situation points to how they want to be understood. For instance, if the
narratives are part of a group discussion or a one-on-one interview, the
interactional and institutional aspects of this setting are relevant parts of
the analysis. Thus, potential participants should keep in mind that this
workshop focuses on the narrative process - the narrative telling
- and not only on 'story analysis'. --- It should also be mentioned, as another
caveat, that this is not meant to be a workshop or training session in
biographical (interpretive) methodology: Within the theoretical framework of
this workshop, as an attempt to link socio-linguistic and ethnomethodological
methods, ‘life’ is treated in the same way as any other experiential and
culturally relevant phenomenon, i.e., it is not in any way treated as
privileged over other narrativized phenomena.
Introductory readings to
prepare for the workshop:
---- Eliciting narrative
data:
- Hollway, W. & Jefferson, T. (1997). Eliciting narrative
through the in-depth interview. Qualitative Inquiry, 3, 53-70.
---- Different approaches to
Narrative Analysis:
- Riessman, C.-K. (1993).
Narrative analysis (Qualitative Research Methods 30). London: Sage
Publications.
- Mishler, E.G. (1995). Models
of narrative analysis. A typology. Journal of Narrative and Life
History, 5, 87-123.
---- Doing Narrative
Analysis:
- Bamberg, M. (1996). Positioning between structure and performance:
Narrative and identity. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 7,
335-342.
- Bamberg, M. (2002). "I know it may sound mean to
say this, but we could really care less about her anyway" Form and Functions of
‘Slut-Bashing’ in Male Identity Constructions in 15-Year-Olds --- a
previous version can be accessed via: http://www.massey.nz/~alock/virtual/bamberg1.html
Dates of past workshop
presentations:
Wednesday,
October 16, 2002 - Meiji Gakuin University - 5:00-9:00pm - coordinated by Professor Scott
Saft <saft@sukura.cc.tsukuba.ac.jp>
and Professor Aug Nishizaka <augnish@soc.meijigakuin.ac.jp>
Friday, October 18, 2002 - Japan Women's University - 10:00am-3:00pm - coordinated by Professor Sachiko Ide <side@lares.dti.ne.jp> and Chikako Sakurai <chikakos@syd.odn.ne.jp>
