Then I Learned about Positive Thinking

The Genre Structuring of Narratives of Self-Transformation

Bibliographic Data

ID2286090
AuthorsCynthia Dickel Dunn (Department of Sociology, Criminology and Anthropology University of Northern Iowa)
Year2014
Volume24
Issue2
Pages133-150
Publication date2014-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Linguistic Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1055-1360 • E-ISSN: 1548-1395
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jola.12045
OpenAlexW2147048012
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited25

This article brings together research on genre and the self to investigate personal narrative as a "technology of the self" (Foucault) in the context of a Japanese public speaking course. In theTokyo Speech Center, the goal of learning to give effective speeches is used as a method for transforming selves, culminating in narratives that position the speaker as someone who has made positive changes, whether in communication skills or interpersonal relationships. In narrating how they were changed by taking the course, speakers display an "enterprising self" (Rose), demonstrating agency, self-management, and reflexivity

Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies

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