Narrative Possibilities in Cultural Life Research

Abstract

As this book has argued throughout, we hear and tell countless stories every day and these narratives can reflect, distort and construct the social world around us. Acting as a resource with which to construct our self-identities, stories help us to recall memories so that the past can become present again. They allow us to recite our experiences—good and bad—to our children, our parents, our friends or our lover. But maybe most important of all, stories permit us to narrate events, people and places in such a way as to give them meaning and significance. As Smith (2008) suggests, stories pervade every part of our social existence. We are born into a storied world, and it is through narratives that we can bring a sense of order to that which, at first glance, may appear chaotic.