Negotiating Values: Narrative and Exposition

In this paper I focus on the limits of narrative by asking what kinds of things narratives do, and what kinds of texts do related things in other ways. In particular I focus on how narrative genres organise time in relation to value, drawing on functional linguistic models of temporality and evaluation. From a linguistic perspective, the various narrative genres negotiate different kinds of solidarity with listeners, and so the limits of narrative materialise various possibilities for communing in a culture, alongside the potentialities for construing community through related and other genres of discourse—since in general, the limits/possibilities of our language (and attendant modalities of communication) are the limits/possibilities of our social world.

The Social Life of Stories: Narrative and Knowledge in the Yukon Territory

The Social Life of Stories: Narrative and Knowledge in the Yukon Territory. Julie Cruikshank Lincoln: of Nebraska Press, 1998. 211 pp.     

Cultural Identity and Illness: Fulani Views

Cultural identity – who the Fulani think they are – informs thinking onillnesses they suffer. Conversely, illness, so very prevalent insub-Saharan Africa, provides Fulani with a constant reminder of theirdistinctive condition in Guinea. How they approach being ill also tellsFulani about themselves. The manner in which Fulani think they are sickexpresses their sense of difference from other ethnic groups. Schemas ofillness and of collective identity draw deeply from the same well andweb of thoughts. Three different approaches of schema theory are used totrace what ties illness to identity. These are 1) the schema asprototype; 2) a connectionist approach associates schemas for illnesswith other cultural schemas; and 3) a hierarchy of schemas. Thehierarchy includes master schemas for ethnic identity, schemas forillness generally and sub-schemas for separate ailments. Schemas orientand provide a framework for the practice of being Fulani – in the sensethat Bourdieu would describe practice as the application of practicalknowledge. Illnesses above the waist are said to be part of the Fulanicondition of belonging in arid climates while they need suffer thehumidity of Guinea. Illnesses below the waist are thought to arise whenone does not act like a Fulani, especially in matters of food and sex.As individuals disclose or conceal illness, as they discuss illness andthe problem of others they reflect standards of Fulani life – beingstrong of character not necessarily of body, being disciplined,rigorously Moslem, and leaders among lessors. To disregard standards orto suggest one does not care about such standards is shameful and placesone out of phase with others and with cultural norms. But to be in stepwith others and with cultural norms is to have pride in the self and thefoundations of Fulani life.     

Bringing Navajo Storytelling Practices into Schools: The Importance of Maintaining Cultural Integrity

This article examines storytelling practices among Navajos as one example of a non-Western approach to education. The article discusses two stories—one regarding the perspectives of Navajo storytellers concerning the importance of the context of storytelling practices and the other about the research process that led to these perspectives. Eight storytellers were interviewed about storytelling practices in the past and those they would like to see in the future. Implications of the importance of key storytelling practices for Navajo education as well as for changes in Western approaches to schooling are presented.     

Narrative Identity in Third Party Reproduction: Normative Aspects and Ethical Challenges

In the last few decades, assisted reproduction has introduced new challenges to the way people conceive and build their families. While the numbers of donor-conceived (DC) individuals have increased worldwide, there are still many controversies concerning access to donor information. Is there a fundamental moral right to know one’s genetic background? What does identity in DC families mean? Is there any relationship between identity formation and disclosure of genetic origins? These questions are addressed by analysing core regulatory discourse (ethical recommendations and codes of practice). This analysis shows that the notion of narrative identity is suitable for defining and answering these questions. This review analyses the meaning of resemblance in DC families and the way donors are selected following affinity-ties and discusses disclosure strategies and agreements. As a preliminary conclusion, it could be said that, in the field of third-party reproduction, knowing about the donor conception significantly contributes towards the development of a narrative identity and also serves as a moral basis for the child’s right to know.     

Narrative and the Cultural Construction of Illness and Healing

Narrative and the Cultural Construction of Illness and Healing. Cheryl Mattingly and Linda C. Garro. eds. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. ix. 270pp.     

Dancing into Being: The Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and the Laura Dance Festival

Focusing on the connection between dance performance and the politics of identity, I explore the problem of human agency and interrogate the concept of a dualistic split between mind and body. I interpret dance as a form of corporeal politics and use the example of dance in two tourist arenas—the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and the Laura Dance and Cultural Festival—to illustrate Aboriginal agency in both participating in and resisting structures of state bureaucratic practice, and representations of cultural authenticity.     

The Social Life of Stories: Narrative and Knowledge in the Yukon Territory.; Northern Passage: Ethnography and Apprenticeship among the Subarctic Dene.

The Social Life of Stories: Narrative and Knowledge in the Yukon Territory. Julie Cruikshank. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. 211 pp.
Northern Passage: Ethnography and Apprenticeship among the Subarctic Dene. Robert Jarvenpa. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1998. 210 pp.     

Report on the Eighth Goettingen International Film Festival, 2006

The eighth Goettingen International Film Festival was held in May 2006 in Goettingen, Germany. Fifty-five films (of 275 submissions) were screened. Many of the films dealt with culture change. Most of the more purely documentary films were of considerable ethnographic interest, and the more explicitly ethnographic films were notable for the innovative ways that they explored reflexivity.     

Latino Cultural Citizenship: Claiming Identity, Space and Rights

Latino Cultural Citizenship: Claiming Identity, Space and Rights. William V. Flores and Rina Benmayor. eds. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. 1997,322 pp.     

Global Culture/Individual Identity: Searching for Home in the Cultural Supermarket

Global Culture/Individual Identity: Searching for Home in the Cultural Supermarket. Gordon Mathews. New York: Routledge, 2000. 228 pp.