Narrative Theory

The theory of narrative, or narratology, was developed in the first part of the twentieth century as a way of accounting for the wide appeal of the novel as the predominant literary genre and has since become a central theory in literary study (itself a growing and specializing area of the humanities). However, the concept really rose to prominence in the west in the 1960s, inspired by the work of leading cultural thinkers such as Roland Barthes, and was a significant factor in the so-called 'linguistic turn' in the human sciences. Following the more recent development of cultural studies, narratology is currently enjoying a kind of comeback due to its long history of engaging non-literary objects. In the 1990s and up to the present, the increasing attention to visual culture has opened up a dialogue between narratology and visual art, which has been made indispensable by the flourishing development of film studies courses. Narrative theory therefore has relevance for a wide number of academic disciplines, including: anthropology; communication; cultural & media studies; history; organization studies; philosophy; post-colonial studies; religious studies and women's/gend studies. This set of volumes sketches the history, breadth, and applicability of narrative theory, thus demonstrating its value as analytical instrument. The collection includes articles from the leading names of narrative theory, such as Roland Barthes, Mikhail Bakhtin, Tzvetan Todorov and Jean-Francoise Lyotard, as well as lesser-known, though equally important, contributions.