Description
Book SynopsisIt has been widely acknowledged that in the past few decades, there has been a ''narrative turn'' - an interest in the storied nature of human life. However, very little work has discussed the role of imagination. Narrative Imagination and Everyday Life looks at how stories and imagination come together in our daily lives, influencing not only our thoughts about what we see and do, but also our contemplation of what is possible and what our limitations are. Without imagination, we are forever doomed to the here and now. But our imaginations are always influenced by our own particular experiences, which we recount to ourselves and others through stories - both told and untold. Combining scholarly research with personal experience, Andrews examines how story and imagination come together in different areas of life such as education, politics, and aging. She focuses on the importance of the narrative imagination when listening to the experiences of others who have very different experienc
Trade ReviewThe sauce of this book is thickened by Andrewss vivid autoethnographic styleshe describes brief moments of clarity while sharing space with two million people at Obamas second inauguration or talking with her daughters friends about growing up. Such encounters show that there are stories everywhere, and so our work as oral history scholars and teachers is to stir conversations that embrace the transformative role of our imaginative, and sometimes imagined, lives. * Clive Muir, Stephen F. Austin State University; Oral History Review *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ; Chapter One: Introduction: Trafficking In Human Possibilities ; Chapter Two: Knowledge, Belief, And Disbelief ; Chapter Three: Ageing ; Chapter Four: Education ; Chapter Five: Politics ; Conclusion ; Bibliography
