[xmca] Narration as BIG story in contrast to little story

[Larry Purss <lpscholar2@gmail.com>]

David Ke

I thought I would bring to your attention an article in the current journal
of Theory & Psychology by Michael Bamberg titled "Who am I? Narration and
its Contributions to Self and Identity".  He is contrasting the biographical
approach [lives as texts] as a metaphor of BIG stories with the Narrative
Practice approach as a metaphor of small stories.

To prime the upcoming discussion on identity formation that this months
article will explore I want to bring Bamberg's perspective on distinguishing
self from identity. On page 6 of the article he writes,

"in broad strokes, identity is a label attributed to the attempt to
differentiate and integrate a sense of self along different social and
personal dimensions" [which the article explains not not distinct or
separate dimensions] "Consequently, identities can be differentiated and
claimed according to varying socio-cultural categories e.g., gender, age,
race, occupation, gangs, socio-economic status, ethnicity, class, nation
states, or regional territory. Any claim of identity faces three dilemmas:
1) sameness of a sense of self across time in the face of constant change;
2) uniqueness of the person vis-a-vis others in the face of being the same
as everybody else; and 3) the construction of agency as constituted by self
(with a self-to-world direction of fit) and world (with a world -to- self
direction of fit). It is argued that IDENTITY takes off from the
continuity/change dilemma, and from here ventures into issues of uniqueness
(self-other differentiation) and agency.  In contrast, notions of SELF and
SENSE OF SELF start from the self/other and agency differentiation and from
here can filter into the diachronicity of continuity and change".

David,  Bamberg is elaborating a notion of a small story approach which is
in the discourse tradition of the Narrative Practice framework. {Hutto is
also working in this realm}  Not sure how these ideas will possibly link up
with notions of identity in the coming article to be posted but I
appreciated how Bamberg opens his article with 3 dilemmas to be answered by
concepts of identity and a sense of self.

Larry
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