The narrative formation of identity revisited

Narrative construction, agency and the unconscious

This article revisits one of the more contentious debates in current studies of narrative: the claim that identities are, in some sense,fabricatedby and in narratives, and the counter-claim that individuals have inherent capacities, such as a dynamic unconscious, that precede or are in excess of any identity-building work that narrative might do. The article approaches this debate via competing theories drawn from sociology and cultural studies, contrasting post-structuralist and Foucauldian theories with a Kleinian cultural analysis of narrative. The theoretical discussion is illustrated via a story told by a young man who apparently had strong investments in heterosexual romance.

Keywords: Persons, Narrative composure, The unconscious, Narrative and identity, Performativity, Suture

Published online: 28 September 2005
https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.15.1.02red

Cited by

Cited by 14 other publications

Brogden, Lace Marie

2009. François, f / Fransask-qui ? Franco-quoi ? Constructions identitaires d'un enseignant en formation en situation linguistique minoritaire. The Canadian Modern Language Review 66:1 ► pp. 73 ff.

Feliciano-Santos, Sherina

2019. Negotiation of ethnoracial configurations among Puerto Rican Taíno activists. Ethnic and Racial Studies 42:7 ► pp. 1149 ff.

Haste, Polly

2013. Low opinions, high hopes: revisiting pupils' expectations of sex and relationship education. Sex Education 13:5 ► pp. 522 ff.

Hey, Valerie & Carole Leathwood

2009. Passionate Attachments: Higher Education, Policy, Knowledge, Emotion and Social Justice. Higher Education Policy 22:1 ► pp. 101 ff.

Lin, Xiaodong, Chris Haywood & Mairtin Mac an Ghaill

2017. In East Asian Men, ► pp. 1 ff.

Lok, Jaco, W. E. Douglas Creed & Rich DeJordy

2019. In Microfoundations of Institutions [Research in the Sociology of Organizations, ], ► pp. 63 ff.

Maersk, Jesper Larsen

2021. Becoming a self through occupation: Occupation as a source of self-continuity in identity formation. Journal of Occupational Science 28:4 ► pp. 469 ff.

McArthur, Margaret A., Linda Birt & Lynne Goodacre

2015. “Better but not best”: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of occupational gain for people with inflammatory arthritis receiving anti-TNFα treatment. Disability and Rehabilitation 37:10 ► pp. 854 ff.

Mitra, Ananda

2012. In Investigating Cyber Law and Cyber Ethics [Advances in Information Security, Privacy, and Ethics, ], ► pp. 132 ff.

Peña Sandoval, Harbey

2012. Over the Colombian Rainbow. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services 24:2 ► pp. 158 ff.

Rifà‐Valls, Montserrat

2009. Deconstructing immigrant girls’ identities through the production of visual narratives in a Catalan urban primary school. Gender and Education 21:6 ► pp. 671 ff.

Srauy, Sam

2019. Professional Norms and Race in the North American Video Game Industry. Games and Culture 14:5 ► pp. 478 ff.

Taylor, Stephanie & Karen Littleton

2022. Biografie w rozmowie. Narracyjno-dyskursywne podejście badawcze. Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej 6:2 ► pp. 103 ff.

van Schalkwyk, Gertina J.

2010. The Crown Prince and the Frog-Prince: Characterisations in the Identity Construction of Firstborn Males. South African Journal of Psychology 40:3 ► pp. 282 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 10 april 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.