Memory, Identity, Community: The Idea of Narrative in the Human Sciences

This multidisciplinary volume documents the resurrection of the importance of narrative to the study of individuals and groups and argues that narrative may become a lingua franca of future debates in the human sciences.

This anthology documents the resurrection, in the last few decades, of the importance of narrative to the study of individuals and groups. The editors propose that the human sciences are undergoing a paradigm shift away from nomological models and toward a more humanistic language in which narrative plays a complex and controversial role. Narratives, they claim, help to make experience intelligible, to crystallize personal identity, and to constitute and nurture community.

The fifteen articles in this collection, organized into sections dealing with memory, identity, and community, are by noted scholars representing a wide variety of disciplines, including philosophy, history, religion, communication, environmental studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and law. They advocate diverse political and ideological positions, supporting the editors' belief that because narrative has not been captured by any academic bloc, it has the potential to become a lingua franca of future debates in the human sciences.

Lewis P. Hinchman is Professor of Government, Center for Liberal Studies, at Clarkson University. His previous books include Hegel's Critique of the Enlightenment. Sandra K. Hinchman is Professor of Government at St. Lawrence University. Her previous work includes Hiking the Southwest Canyon Country. The two are coeditors of Hannah Arendt: Critical Essays, also published by SUNY Press.