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The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life William L. Randall (Professor of Gerontology, Professor of Gerontology, St. Thomas University)

The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life By William L. Randall (Professor of Gerontology, Professor of Gerontology, St. Thomas University)

Summary

In The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life, William L. Randall makes the case that all people function as narrative psychologists by continually storying their lives-as well as those of others-in memory and their imagination.

The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life Summary

The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life: Tales from the Coffee Shop by William L. Randall (Professor of Gerontology, Professor of Gerontology, St. Thomas University)

Our everyday lives are enmeshed in storytelling: the stories we tell about our memories, the people we know, and the world we inhabit; those we tell about our families and communities; and the narratives we encounter in books, movies, and television. Narrative structures how we view ourselves and everything around us. In The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life, William L. Randall shows how concepts central to the study of narrative psychology-such as narrative development and the interrelation between narrative and identity, cognition, and development-are integral to everyday life. He makes the case that all people function as narrative psychologists by continually storying their lives in memory and imagination, as well as speculating on the stories that others may be living, a process that Randall refers to as storyotyping. Relying heavily on narrative, Randall draws from experiences in his own life to illustrate various concepts in narrative psychology. His inquiry leads him to the topics of gossip, rumor, and the narrative complexity of nostalgia. In doing so, he makes the case that all people function as narrative psychologists by continually storying - or, cementing - their lives in memory and imagination, a process Randall refers to as storyotyping.

The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life Reviews

[Randall] opens the text to his own voice, and the richness of his accumulated experiences and reflections. --Narrative Works

About William L. Randall (Professor of Gerontology, Professor of Gerontology, St. Thomas University)

William L. Randall is Professor of Gerontology at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Brought up in rural New Brunswick, he studied at Harvard, Cambridge Princeton Seminary, and the University of Toronto. Prior to entering academic life, he served for ten years as a minister with the United Church of Canada. Since then he has authored, co-authored, or co-edited 5 books and written 35 articles and chapters on topics related to narrative and aging. He is the principal organizer of the international conference Narrative Matters and is co-editor of the journal Narrative Works: Issues, Investigations, Interventions.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1. In the Beginning: The Story Behind the Book 2. Medium with Milk: Setting the Scene 3. The Story of My Life: Narrative as Metaphor 4. The Story of My Life II: Novelty, Identity, and Narrative 5. Hollyhocks and Hummingbirds: The Biographical Imperative 6. Friends and Lovers: Narrative in Relationship 7. The Tales that Bind: Narrative and Community 8. Cigar in the Night: Storying the Past 9. World without End: Story and Spirit Epilogue Appendix: Readings Between the Lines: A Bibliographic Note References Index

Additional information

NLS9780190675134
9780190675134
0190675136
The Narrative Complexity of Ordinary Life: Tales from the Coffee Shop by William L. Randall (Professor of Gerontology, Professor of Gerontology, St. Thomas University)
New
Paperback
Oxford University Press Inc
2017-04-06
210
N/A
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