What is Narrative?

Narrative

In this course, Dr Marcello Giovanelli (Aston University) explores several aspects of narrative. In the first module, we think about what narrative actually is. In the two modules after that, we think about written narratives, focusing first on the importance of narrative point of view, and then on the concept of mind style. In the fourth module, we turn from written narratives to spoken narratives, focusing in particular on some approaches to spoke narrative, before turning in the fifth module to think about narrative in the mind: why can words on a page evoke such vivid imagery in our minds? Finally, in the sixth module, we turn to one particular genre of narrative: advertising.

What is Narrative?

In this module, we start thinking about what narrative actually is, focusing in particular on: (i) the human propensity to both produce and consume stories; (ii) two definitions of narrative – one from Wales' Dictionary of Stylistics (2011) and the other from Traugott and Pratt's Linguistics for Students of Literature (1981); (iii) the work of Porter Abbott and the distinction between story and narrative discourse; and (iv) the concept of tellability.