Identity in narratives

Abstract

The paper analyses students’ identity as expressed in narratives. The theoretical framework relies on the constructionist approach, which defines identity as manifested in individuals’ social actions, developed in discourse, and fluid (De Fina and Georgakopoulou 2013, Benwell and Stokoe 2006, Cohen 2010, Bamberg, de Fina and Schiffrin 2007). The paper focuses on the institutional and interactional types of identity and interprets narratives as a way to understand the world and the self and to account for what the narrator has become. The data analyzed come from a research interview conducted with students who were asked to narrate an experience that made them feel that they are students; the conclusions focus on the narrative structure and on the identity features expressed.