Teaching Undergraduate Researchers to Theorize and Practice Narrative Inquiry

Abstract

Narrative inquiry has become a growing part of scholarly work across disciplines and a common part of student writing. I begin this article by proposing that undergraduate students can benefit from a course that teaches them about narrative, a mode of knowing many theorists claim is unique to humans and basic to our understanding. Students who understand the intersections of epistemology and narrative are more likely to avoid the intellectual pratfalls of writing narratives that are static, simple or entirely self-focused. The remainder of the article proposes texts and themes to constitute a course focused on narrative thinking and writing. I suggest that the major topics to take up are the role of narrative in human history, in contemporary scholarship, and in feminist and postmodern theory. Issues of interest include the function of narrative as evidence, the role of the personal and of experience in knowledge building according to feminist and postmodern theorizing, the ethical responsibility of narrative writers and the interactive engagement of readers. Students who make connections amongst examples, theory and personal experience not only gain a better understanding of narrative scholarship but are also more likely to enact its authentic practice.

Key words: narrative inquiry, narrative argument, feminist narrative, epistemology, ethics