Narrative theory, data, and methodology of the study

Abstract

In Part I, we argued that discourse (along with other semiotic behaviors) is a mechanism for constructing identities which are not innate or a priori given or available to individuals. Discourse contributes to the diffusion, the impact, or even the (direct or indirect) imposition of conceptions and convictions on individuals. At the same time, it offers them the possibility of managing, contesting, or even resisting the aforesaid ideological demands and, in the end, of creating their own versions of identity. By considering discourse as a medium of impositions from above and choices from below, we concluded that identities emerge as interactive processes in specific frames of social relations and communicative contexts.