Sources
- THE POWER OF STORY: Identity Development and Meaning Making (Class Material)
The Notion of a Core Story
As meaning making beings, humans tend to express their self-development and coherence of life narratively. This means that a life story is beyond just the arrangement of objective facts about one’s life. It is a way for individuals to attach meaning or significance to their experiences. In this regard, core stories explain the self and the meaning attached to one’s experiences.
Besides the stories, the way they are told (i.e., the individual’s stances, what parts are emphasized and what parts are omitted, etc.) also contribute to one’s identity development. Stories cultivate one’s dignity because they acknowledge the importance of forming an identity and meaning.
Core stories highlight one’s identity and the meaning attached to the events and other elements of their stories. In contrast, traditional stories do not necessarily ascribe significance or meaning in the events told.
Story and the Flourishing of Lives
Stories address the underlying concern for our dignity: “How should humans live? And what does it mean to flourish?”. Stories appropriately answer these questions because their particular nature is comparable to the unique nature of the human condition.
Dignity
Dignity pertains to the respect one has for the development of their life and self.
Stories articulate what it means to flourish. As expressions of the narrative coherence of the self, stories establish personal identity. It is crucial for people to examine their stories because stories carry meaning and explain people’s construction of their social world.
Stories sustain dignity in both personal and public ways: within a personal experience, they assist in the formation of one’s identity and connection with others; within a public realm, stories open conversations for forming culturally-negotiated meanings.
Creating A Sense of Universalism
To create a sense of universalism, two principles are needed:
- universal moral respect
- enables everyone’s voices to be heard
- egalitarian reciprocity
Defining Characteristics of Core Stories
- A core story provides a coherence of meaning in one’s life experiences.
- Core stories allow the teller to know which events are important.
- Core stories enable one to reveal one’s experience to the public.
- Core stories can challenge cultural norms.
- Core stories are diverse due to the contextual and relational nature of the self.