Publications

Publication details [#43804]

Georgakopoulou, Alexandra. 2006. Thinking big with small stories in narrative and identity analysis. Narrative Inquiry 16 (1) : 122–130.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Place, Publisher
John Benjamins
Journal DOI
10.1075/ni

Annotation

Narrative research is frequently described as a rich and diverse enterprise, yet the kinds of narrative data that it bases itself on present a striking consensus: they are autobiographical in kind (i.e., about non-shared, personal experience, single past events). This paper puts forth a case for under-represented narrative data, collectively called (following Bamberg 2004a, b; also Georgakopoulou & Bamberg, 2005) “small stories” (partly literally, partly metaphorically). The aim is to flesh small stories out, to urge for the sort of systematic research that will establish connections between their interactional features and their sites of engagement and finally to consider the implications of their inclusion in narrative research for identity analysis (as the main agenda of much of narrative research). Thus small stories research is proposed as a “new” narrative turn that can provide a needed meeting point for narrative analysis and narrative inquiry.