Bronwen Thomas - Narrative: The Basics

Providing an up-to-date and accessible overview of the essentials of narrative theory, Narrative: The Basics guides the reader through the major approaches to the study of narrative, using contemporary examples from a wide range of narrative forms to answer key questions, including:

• What is narrative?
• What are the universals of narrative?
• What is the relationship between narrative and ideology?
• Does the reader have a role in narrative?
• Has the digital age brought radically new forms of narrative?

Each chapter introduces key theoretical terms, providing thinking points and suggestions for further study. With an emphasis on applying theory to example studies, it is an ideal introduction to the current study of narrative.

Bronwen Thomas is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University, UK.

ACTING

Bella Merlin

AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY

Nancy Stanlick

ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Daniel C. Snell

ANIMAL ETHICS

Tony Milligan

ANTHROPOLOGY

Peter Metcalf

ARCHAEOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)

Clive Gamble

ART HISTORY

Grant Pooke and Diana Newall

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Kevin Warwick

THE BIBLE

John Barton

THE BIBLE AND LITERATURE

Norman W. Jones

BIOETHICS

Alastair V. Campbell

BODY STUDIES

Niall Richardson and Adam Locks

BUDDHISM

Cathy Cantwell

CAPITALISM

David Coates

CHRISTIANITY

Bruce Chilton

THE CITY

Kevin Archer

CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

Suman Gupta

CRIMINAL LAW

Jonathan Herring

CRIMINOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)

Sandra Walklate

DANCE STUDIES

Jo Butterworth

EASTERN PHILOSOPHY

Victoria S. Harrison

ECONOMICS (THIRD EDITION)

Tony Cleaver

EDUCATION

Kay Wood

ENERGY

Michael Schobert

EUROPEAN UNION (SECOND EDITION)

Alex Warleigh-Lack

EVOLUTION

Sherrie Lyons

FILM STUDIES (SECOND EDITION)

Amy Villarejo

FINANCE (THIRD EDITION)

Erik Banks

FOOD ETHICS

Ronald Sandler

FREE WILL

Meghan Griffith

GENDER

Hilary Lips

GENOCIDE

Paul R. Bartrop

GLOBAL MIGRATION

Bernadette Hanlon and Thomas Vicinio

GREEK HISTORY

Robin Osborne

HUMAN GENETICS

Ricki Lewis

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Andrew Jones

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Peter Sutch and Juanita Elias

ISLAM (SECOND EDITION)

Colin Turner

JOURNALISM STUDIES

Martin Conboy

JUDAISM

Jacob Neusner

LANGUAGE (SECOND EDITION)

R. L. Trask

LAW

Gary Slapper and David Kelly

LITERARY THEORY (THIRD EDITION)

Hans Bertens

LOGIC

JC Beall

MANAGEMENT

Morgen Witzel

MARKETING (SECOND EDITION)

Karl Moore and Niketh Pareek

MEDIA STUDIES

Julian McDougall

METAPHYSICS

Michael Rea

NARRATIVE

Bronwen Thomas

THE OLYMPICS

Andy Miah and Beatriz Garcia

PHILOSOPHY (FIFTH EDITION)

Nigel Warburton

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Joseph Holden

POETRY (THIRD EDITION)

Jeffrey Wainwright

POLITICS (FIFTH EDITION)

Stephen Tansey and Nigel Jackson

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Ron Smith

THE QURAN

Massimo Campanini

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Peter Kivisto and Paul R. Croll

RELIGION (SECOND EDITION)

Malory Nye

RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Philip Clayton

RESEARCH METHODS

Nicholas Walliman

ROMAN CATHOLICISM

Michael Walsh

SEMIOTICS (SECOND EDITION)

Daniel Chandler

SHAKESPEARE (THIRD EDITION)

Sean McEvoy

SOCIAL WORK

Mark Doel

SOCIOLOGY

Ken Plummer

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITY (SECOND EDITION)

Janice Wearmouth

SPORT MANAGEMENT

Robert Wilson and Mark Piekarz

SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

David Tod

STANISLAVSKI

Rose Whyman

SUBCULTURES

Ross Haenfler

SUSTAINABILITY

Peter Jacques

TELEVISION STUDIES

Toby Miller

TERRORISM

James Lutz and Brenda Lutz

THEATRE STUDIES (SECOND EDITION)

Robert Leach

WOMENS STUDIES

Bonnie Smith

WORLD HISTORY

Peter N. Stearns

Bronwen Thomas

First published 2016
by Routledge
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2016 Bronwen Thomas

The right of Bronwen Thomas to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

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ISBN: 978-0-415-83264-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-83265-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-72786-8 (ebk)

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My biggest thanks go to the many students who have contributed over the years to discussions on the Narrative Structures unit which I have been teaching since my arrival at Bournemouth University. One of my fondest memories of my time at Bournemouth is of the student who wrote that Narrative Structures changed my life on a course feedback form, and I share that sentiment, having learned a lot from the ways in which my students have applied many of the theories discussed in this book.

The Narrative Research Group at Bournemouth has also been a major source of support and inspiration. I have also been fortunate to have been able to participate in conferences organised by the International Society for the Frontiers of Narrative, and to have published in their journal and in the Frontiers of Narratives series edited by David Herman.

The author and publishers would also like to thank Guardian News & Media Ltd. for permission to quote from the news story in .

Narrative is everywhere that human beings are.

(Abbott 2008: xv)