Reading trauma : exploring the relationship between narrative and coping
This thesis argues that narrative is the primary way in which we make meaning of our experiences in the world. The concept of narrative is liberated from the constraints of structuralist, narratological or literary perspectives through a tightly drawn re-definition of the term which is non-event centric, and is based on the distinction which can be made between narrative and story and on a conceptualisation of narrative which is based on the relationship between story and life. The central focus of the work is how, precisely, narrative enables us to make meaning of our experiences and, in particular, how the process of narration in the aftermath of trauma is related to the process of coping. The database for the study is made up of personal experience narratives of trauma. These are analysed in the terms of the model of the trauma narrative proposed by the thesis, and a wide range of structural and linguistic features are identified, analysed, and interpreted. These interpretations are made in dialogue with psychological approaches to trauma. Moving beyond the study of trauma, the thesis argues that we live our lives within a time/narrative framework. The work of Paul Ricoeur is used to develop the notion
Patterson, Wendy
Oral; Life stories; Personal
Reading trauma : exploring the relationship between narrative and coping. This thesis argues that narrative is the primary way in which we make meaning of our experiences in the world. The concept of narrative is liberated from the constraints of structuralist, narratological or literary perspectives through a tightly drawn re-definition of the term which is non-event centric, and is based on the distinction which can be made between narrative and story and on a conceptualisation of narrative which is based on the relationship between story and life. The central focus of the work is how, precisely, narrative enables us to make meaning of our experiences and, in particular, how the process of narration in the aftermath of trauma is related to the process of coping. The database for the study is made up of personal experience narratives of trauma. These are analysed in the terms of the model of the trauma narrative proposed by the thesis, and a wide range of structural and linguistic features are identified, analysed, and interpreted. These interpretations are made in dialogue with psychological approaches to trauma. Moving beyond the study of trauma, the thesis argues that we live our lives within a time/narrative framework. The work of Paul Ricoeur is used to develop the notion
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