I'm very attracted to sustaining an enquiry with Louise into young children's active citizenship
inspired through transformative storytelling. I know Marie is organising an event on the 16th July
that could include the development of such transformative storytelling. I know the young people
described in the quotation below from Michael Watts are probably older that the children Louise
has in mind, but of all papers I've read recently the following quote resonated with my own
interests, especially his point about 'hegemonic imposition' and I hope that it speaks to yours.
Love Jack.
“The young people leaving school were given the opportunity to tell their stories and this
enhanced narrative capital allowed them to challenge the hierarchically determined presumption
that they had low aspirations because they were not progressing to higher education. They had
been given the narrative capability they are required to deploy the narrative capital they
possessed in order to narrate the stories of their lives. Capability is concerned with the
substantive freedoms the individual has to choose and lead a life she values and has reason to
value. It is necessary to question the extent to which the freedom to articulate those choices may
be restricted by hierarchical power structures that presume socially constructed values and that,
moreover, limit opportunity to talk even when invited to do so. Life histories have the potential to
resolve this by providing research participants with the freedom to tell their stories and by
contexualising those stories to identify and confront the socially constructed hierarchies of power
that may otherwise inhibit the telling of tales.
The enhancement of narrative capability requires us to pay attention to the bigger story of which
education may be only a small part. But we must also pay attention to the participant’s ability to
tell a story. It may not be enough to let them struggle through the story unaided. We may be able
to develop an understanding of their lives from stumbling speech and from silences but this is not
necessarily enough. Giving voice to our research participants, particularly those with low volumes
of narrative capital, must therefore mean more than simply letting them speak (although this
legitimation may be all they require). It must be about understanding; and they may need support
to articulate and understand their own lives. Moreover, this support must acknowledge their own
values if we are avoid the hegemonic imposition of other lives, other stories and other values upon
them. We come back to life histories as a means of talking truth and confronting power because
they enable us to contextualise the stories we are told and to understand them from the
perspective of the story teller.” (Watts, 2008, p. 110)
Watts, M. (2008) Narrative Research, Narrative Capital and Narrative Capability, pp.99-112 in: J.
Satterthwaite, M. Watts & H. Piper (eds) Talking Truth & Confronting Power, in Satterthwaite, J.,
Watts, M. & Piper, J. (2008) Talking Truth, Confronting Power, Sterling; Trentham Books.
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