Workshop Contents

The aim of this workshop is to learn how to work with narrative data in doing ‘Identity Analysis’. Although we also will discuss ‘narratives as monologues’, this workshop's focus is on narratives in interaction, i.e., the ‘Identity Work’ that is done by narrating. This workshop targets researchers in the social sciences who are interested in the analysis of particular social (and personal) phenomena; who are using stories and story-telling as tools to analyze these phenomena; and who approach social phenomena as experiential and cultural phenomena through the lens of personal experience and identity-formation (development). The focus is on the analysis of narratives as ‘ordering devices’ for the world that is depicted within the story (characters in the ‘there + then’); the world of the interaction (characters in the ‘here + now’); and the formation of a sense of self (and identity). This one-day workshop will start with a broad theoretical introduction, and from there move quickly into working with examples on issues of ‘adolescence’ and ‘gender’.

For the afternoon session, we hope to be also able to discuss problems and material that the participants bring to the workshop. Please contact mbamberg@clarku.edu in advance so we will be able to accommodate as many projects as possible.