Dialogue in a discourse context
-
David Herman
Abstract
Building on recent studies of speech and thought representation in narrative fiction (Fludernik 1993; Herman 2002; Palmer 2004; Thomas 2002), this essay outlines the advantages of forging interconnections between narrative theory and a range of disciplinary frameworks concerned with talk — including literary theory, linguistic pragmatics, discourse analysis, gender studies, and research on socially distributed cognition. Using Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse as a case study, the essay first explores general theoretical and interpretive issues raised by scenes of talk portrayed in the novel. Then it zooms in on one chapter that centers around a communicative encounter between two characters. This scene both illuminates and is illuminated by research on socio-communicative practices in general. Further, the scene requires a rethinking of modernist narrative construed as a privileging of characters’ interiority over the concrete social and material environments in which they think, act, and communicate. Hence an interdisciplinary approach to scenes of talk like Woolf’s not only necessitates a reconsideration of key ideas in literary studies, but also suggests new directions for narrative theory after the second cognitive revolution.
Abstract
Building on recent studies of speech and thought representation in narrative fiction (Fludernik 1993; Herman 2002; Palmer 2004; Thomas 2002), this essay outlines the advantages of forging interconnections between narrative theory and a range of disciplinary frameworks concerned with talk — including literary theory, linguistic pragmatics, discourse analysis, gender studies, and research on socially distributed cognition. Using Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse as a case study, the essay first explores general theoretical and interpretive issues raised by scenes of talk portrayed in the novel. Then it zooms in on one chapter that centers around a communicative encounter between two characters. This scene both illuminates and is illuminated by research on socio-communicative practices in general. Further, the scene requires a rethinking of modernist narrative construed as a privileging of characters’ interiority over the concrete social and material environments in which they think, act, and communicate. Hence an interdisciplinary approach to scenes of talk like Woolf’s not only necessitates a reconsideration of key ideas in literary studies, but also suggests new directions for narrative theory after the second cognitive revolution.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introductory remarks 1
- Narrative research and the challenge of accumulating knowledge 7
- The role of narrative in personality psychology today 17
- The promise (and challenge) of an innovative narrative psychology 27
- Biographical structuring 37
- Narrative pre-construction 47
- A new role for narrative in variationist sociolinguistics 57
- Story formulations in talk-in-interaction 69
- Continuity and change in narrative study 81
- Dialogue in a discourse context 91
- Rhetorical aesthetics and other issues in the study of literary narrative 103
- Narrative as construction and discursive resource 113
- The narrative negotiation of identity and belonging 123
- Narratives in action 133
- Thinking big with small stories in narrative and identity analysis 145
- Life “on holiday”? 155
- Stories: Big or small 165
- Entitlement and empathy in personal narrative 175
- Frankie, Johnny, Oprah and Me 185
- Rescuing narrative from qualitative research 195
- The performance turn in narrative studies 205
- Applied ethnopoetics 215
- The self-telling body 225
- Narrative thinking and the emergence of postpsychological therapies 237
- Do good stories produce good health? 249
- Living stories 261
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introductory remarks 1
- Narrative research and the challenge of accumulating knowledge 7
- The role of narrative in personality psychology today 17
- The promise (and challenge) of an innovative narrative psychology 27
- Biographical structuring 37
- Narrative pre-construction 47
- A new role for narrative in variationist sociolinguistics 57
- Story formulations in talk-in-interaction 69
- Continuity and change in narrative study 81
- Dialogue in a discourse context 91
- Rhetorical aesthetics and other issues in the study of literary narrative 103
- Narrative as construction and discursive resource 113
- The narrative negotiation of identity and belonging 123
- Narratives in action 133
- Thinking big with small stories in narrative and identity analysis 145
- Life “on holiday”? 155
- Stories: Big or small 165
- Entitlement and empathy in personal narrative 175
- Frankie, Johnny, Oprah and Me 185
- Rescuing narrative from qualitative research 195
- The performance turn in narrative studies 205
- Applied ethnopoetics 215
- The self-telling body 225
- Narrative thinking and the emergence of postpsychological therapies 237
- Do good stories produce good health? 249
- Living stories 261
