Items related to Life Stories: The Creation of Coherence (Oxford Studies...

Life Stories: The Creation of Coherence (Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics) - Softcover

Linde, Charlotte

  • 3.96 out of 5 stars
    25 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780195073737: Life Stories: The Creation of Coherence (Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0195073738 ISBN 13: 9780195073737
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1993

Synopsis

All adult speakers in Western cultures have life stories argues Charlotte Linde, and the ways in which these life stories are formed and exchanged with others have a powerful effect on all of us. Life stories express our sense of self, who we are and how we got that way. According to Linde, we also use these stories to show that our lives can be understood as coherent, and to assert or negotiate group membership. These life stories take part in the highest level of social constructions, since they are built on cultural assumptions about what is expected in a life, what the norms for a successful life are, and what common or special belief systems are necessary to establish coherence. The life story, illuminated by this engrossing study, is a form of everyday discourse which has not previously been precisely defined or studied. It is an oral, discontinuous unit, consisting of stories which are retold in a variety of forms over a long period of time, and which may be revised and changed as the speaker comes to drop old meanings and add new ones to parts of the life story. The life story is a particularly rich and important area for study, because it represents a crossroads of linguistic structure and social practice. Linde's analysis is of importance to linguistics, as well as having broader implications for anthropology, psychology, and sociology.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Charlotte Linde is at Institute for Research on Learning.

From the Back Cover

This sociological study explores how people create and exchange coherent life stories, and looks at the psychological and social purposes behind them.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication date
1993
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0195073738
ISBN 13 
9780195073737
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
256
Rating
  • 3.96 out of 5 stars
    25 ratings by Goodreads