Shifting discourses of togetherness and heroism in retold earthquake stories

Bibliographic Data

ID12625709
AuthorsHayden Blain (0000-0002-0118-5807, University of Missouri, corresponding author), Paul Millar (0000-0002-4661-672X, University of Missouri)
Year2023
Volume35
Issue1
Pages70-94
Publication date2023-04-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNarrative Inquiry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1387-6740 • E-ISSN: 1569-9935
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/ni.22107.bla
OpenAlexW4367297529
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited30

This paper examines how disaster-related discourses are produced in storytelling, and whether and in what way these discourses may change in the second telling. We examine two sets of retold stories taken from a corpus of 123 retold stories about the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand. Findings indicate that these storytellers tell structurally similar stories, yet implement subtle linguistic changes which produce different positionings and discourses in the two tellings. We draw on positioning analysis and the ethnomethodological concept of tellability to show how, in the first telling, the storytellers orient to and produce discourses of united togetherness , whereas in the second telling they produce discourses of bravery and heroism . We argue that the positioning and discursive strategies used in disaster stories may change drastically over time, showing how retold stories of the same event change to meet the evolving realities of the teller and their post-disaster community

Art · Event (particle physics · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Sociology · Story telling · Storytelling · Disaster Management and Resilience · Disaster Response and Management · History · Philosophy · Public Relations and Crisis Communication

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