NARRATIVE ANALYSIS - OR WHY (AND HOW) SOCIOLOGISTS SHOULD BE INTERESTED IN NARRATIVE

In this paper I explore the questions of why and how sociologists shou ld be interested in narrative. The answer to the first question is str aightforward: Narrative texts are packed with sociological information , and a great deal of our empirical evidence is in narrative form. In an attempt to answer the second question, I look at definitions of nar rative, distinguishing narrative from non-narrative texts. I highlight the linguistic properties of narrative and illustrate modes of analys is, paying close attention to both the structural properties of the te xt and its subtle linguistic nuances. I guide the reader through a det ailed analysis of a short narrative text. I show how linguistics and s ociology interplay at the level of a text.