Telling stories : the use of personal narratives in the social sciences and history

Book

Telling stories : the use of personal narratives in the social sciences and history / Mary Jo Maynes, Jennifer L. Pierce, and Barbara Laslett.

Maynes, Mary Jo. (Author). Pierce, Jennifer L., 1958- (Added Author). Laslett, Barbara. (Added Author).

Summary:

In Telling Stories, Mary Jo Maynes, Jennifer L. Pierce, and Barbara Laslett argue that personal narrativesautobiographies, oral histories, life history interviews, and memoirsare an important research tool for understanding the relationship between people and their societies. Gathering examples from throughout the world and from premodern as well as contemporary cultures, they draw from labor history and class analysis, feminist sociology, race relations, and anthropology to demonstrate the value of personal narratives for scholars and students alike. Telling Stories explores why and how personal narratives should be used as evidence, and the methods and pitfalls of their use. The authors stress the importance of recognizing that stories that people tell about their lives are never simply individual. Rather, they are told in historically specific times and settings and call on rules, models, and social experiences that govern how story elements link together in the process of self-narration. - Publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9780801446177
ISBN: 0801446171
ISBN: 9780801473920
ISBN: 0801473926
Physical Description: ix, 186 pages ; 25 cm
Publisher: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, ©2008.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references (pages 157-180) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Agency, subjectivity, and narratives of the self -- Intersecting stories : personal narratives in historical context -- The forms of telling and retelling lives -- Personal narrative research as intersubjective encounter -- Making arguments based on personal narrative sources.