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“Dominant Positions: Conformity and Resistance in Narrative Politics” Michael Bamberg will develop working definitions of ‘narrative’ and ‘positioning’ and argue that narrating is fundamentally ‘conflictual’: Narrating involves the management (“navigation”) of three dilemmatic positions: (i) continuity and change across time; (ii) sameness and difference vis-à-vis others; and (iii) agency as resting in self versus ‘external’ (contextual/social) forces. Grounding ‘narrative’ and ‘positioning’ within an interactive (constructionist) approach Michael will focus on ways in which narratives can be analyzed to document the dilemmatic tensions between ‘conformity with’ and ‘counter to’ dominant positions. Dr. Bamberg received a Staatsexamen in German, Politics and Education from the Universität Marburg, Germany in 1975, an M.Phil. in Linguistics from the University of York, England in 1978, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. He has been at Clark University since 1986. Dr. Bamberg's research is in the area of Discourse and Identity with an emphasis on how Narratives (particularly "Small Stories") are employed as general sense-making and identity-building strategies. Methodologically, he approaches the study of identity microanalytically (microgenetically) as an emergent process that is deeply embedded in local and situated context. His research projects are in the area of adolescent and post-adolescent identity formation, particularly the emergence of professional identities. Refreshments will be served.
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Truland Building, Room 555
Refreshments will be served.
Contact: Erica Soren, [email protected]