Abstract
As noted in the introduction, the term “narrative” is not very clearly defined and it is often used interchangeably with story. However, we contend that it is important to make a pragmatic distinction between narrative and story. We do so because in our analysis of Islamist extremist communications, we have found a useful structural relationship among three types of accounts: stories, narratives, and master narratives. We begin this chapter by defining those terms and elaborating on their structural relationship.
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Notes
Jeffry R. Halverson, Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash ‘arism, and Political Sunnism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), 60–65.
Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984), 8.
Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth (New York: Anchor, 1991).
Walter R Fisher, Human Communication as Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason, Value, and Action (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1989).
Clifford Geertz, “Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture,” in The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973).
See Max Weber, “Objectivity in Social Science and Social Policy,” in The Methodology of the Social Sciences, ed. and trans. E. A. Shils and H. A. Finch (New York: Free Press, 1904/1949).
Kenneth Burke, On Symbols and Society, ed. Joseph Gusfield (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989).
H. L. Goodall, Jr., “Blood, Shit, and Tears: The Terrorist as Abject Other,” paper presented at the “Managing and Legislating Workplace Abjection,” University of York, United Kingdom, September 23, 2009. For an elaboration of the Crusader/Infidel binary, please see Jeff Sharlet, “Jesus Killed Mohammad,” Harper’s (May 2009): 31–43.
Octavio Paz, In Search of the Present: 1990 Nobel Lecture (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990).
Anthony Giddens, The Constitution of Society (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1984).
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© 2011 Jeffry R. Halverson, H. L. Goodall Jr., and Steven R. Corman
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Halverson, J.R., Goodall, H.L., Corman, S.R. (2011). What is a Master Narrative?. In: Master Narratives of Islamist Extremism. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-11723-5_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-11723-5_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
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Online ISBN: 978-0-230-11723-5
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