The Narrative Construction of the Self

Abstract

In this article, the authors use the metaphor of the rhizome of the French philosophers Deleuze and Guattari as an experimental methodological concept to study the narrative construction of the self. By considering the self as a rhizomatic story, the authors create a story structure that not only offers a useful view on the way in which people narratively construct their selfhood but also stimulates an experiment with alternative, nontraditional presentation forms. The researcher is no longer listening from a distance to the stories of the participant and subsequently represents these stories. She or he becomes a part of the rhizome. The authors illustrate this rhizomatic approach and its research possibilities by presenting story fragments from their research.Researcher: As I already mentioned by e-mail and phone, I'm interested in the way people who have received a medical-psychiatric diagnosis tell about themselves. So the idea is that you tell me more about yourself and your life today. I don't have any prepared questions, so it's really the idea that you tell about what's important to you. Every once in a while I'll ask a question if I haven't understood something.

How trust functions in the context of identity work

“…Since identity is now commonly viewed as a fragile and fleeting accomplishment best researched as an ongoing narrative construction that is plurivocal and co-performed (Sermijn, et al, 2008), trust may also be fruitfully researched in this way.…”

“…For example, I coded for phrases like "this made me feel less valued" or "trust is important to me because it makes me feel more secure", or "losing trust made me feel worthless". After coding the stories for identity themes, I then sought to engage with each as a fragile and illusive construction of identity with multiple entry points and potential fragmentation (Sermijn et al, 2008). In keeping with prior Lacanian organizational research (Bicknell and Liefooghe, 2010;Harding, 2007;Hoedemakers and Keegan, 2010;Vanheule, Lievrouw and Verhaeghe, 2003), and guidelines developed for Lacanian discourse analysis (Parker, 2005), I sought to engage with each story from within the text (Parker, 2010: 166) seeking to highlight how each narrator drew on trust discourse to construct a unique conscious imaginary self (Lacan, 1977b: 236).…”

“…The stories were analyzed using narrative inquiry, a broad qualitative inquiry method suited especially to identity research (Ollerenshaw and Creswell, 2002;Polkinghorne, 2007;Sermijn et al, 2008;Rogan and De Kock, 2005) and narrative discursive analysis in particular (Morison and Macleod, 2013) to first identify common themes and wider discourses in the stories and then also to make space for subjects (Wolgemuth and Donohue, 2006) by examining how subjects position themselves relative to such themes and discourses (Morrison and Macleod, 2013). Therefore, I examined the stories first with regard to how narrators drew on the discourse of trust.…”

Drawing on the discursive resources from psychological contracts to construct imaginary selves: A psychoanalytic perspective on how identity work drives psychological contracts

“…The narratives were approached not as a gateway to an underlying objective truth but as linguistic struggles (Hoedemakers andKeegan, 2010: 1028) with multiple and shifting significations. Each narrative has multiple points from which an analysis can begin as a "creative endeavor" (Ybema, Keenoy and Oswick, 2009: 316) through which potentially transformative readings can emerge (Sermijn et al, 2008).…”

“…The stories were analyzed using qualitative narrative inquiry (Morison and Macleod, 2013;Ollerenshaw and Creswell, 2002;Polkinghorne, 2007;Sermijn et al, 2008;Rogan and De Kock, 2005). This framework is appropriate for exploring narrative constructions of the self providing space for subjects (Wolgemuth and Donohue, 2006) while not objectifying and claiming them (Tuck and Yang, 2014: 814).…”