After reading Conjunctions: Life Narratives in the Field of Human Rights by Sidonie Smith and Kay Schaffer, their argument of how life narratives can be “problematic” intrigued me because previously, I had never considered storytelling to be something that could stir trouble. Schaffer and Smith also claim that life narratives are crucial for bringing social change – so why is change considered problematic?

Tying this idea of problematic narratives to G. Thomas Couser who articulates the “counterhegemonic” potential of disability life narratives, I find interesting how sharing life stories has led others to conclude that the stories of others can be “problematic” and “counterhegemonic”. Possibly, this is because texts such as Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, or The World is Moving Around Me by Dany Laferriere are a few examples of the many published life narratives that discuss experiences of trauma. Looking further into this, people often share their traumatic experiences as a form of therapy – called narrative therapy (Dulwich Centre Publications Pty Ltd & Dulwich Centre Foundation Inc). While authors seek to share their life experiences, the reception of the truths that are told can sometimes “disrupt” (Schaffer and Smith) traditional institutions or threaten the current social capital (i.e. those at the top of societal hierarchy in terms of power).

Using The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano as an example, Equiano’s slave narrative discusses his experience as a slave in the 18^th century. For him to talk about the experiences he either went through or bore witness to can be considered problematic because by sharing the wrongdoings of people that have power, Equiano’s personal accounts communicate to others the side of those in power that they most likely do not want others to see. In this way, life narratives can, again, cause change in such a way that past traditions are shifted into modernity.

Life narratives that discuss trauma can often be therapeutic and beneficial for the writer. However, the reception of these stories from other people can evoke issues because social change requires adapting (or breaking altogether) the traditions that previously existed. Life narratives are shown to have more than one potential – whether they are a form of therapy, or a form of advancing social justice, the intentions of the author are unknown to us. However, while calling for social change is seen as problematic to some people, possibly it is only an issue because life narratives interfere with the current power structure that exists today.

Works Cited

Couser, Thomas. “Rhetoric and Self-Representation in Disability Memoir.” Couser, Thomas. Signifying Bodies. University of Michigan Press, 2009. 42, 44, 45.

Dulwich Centre Publications Pty Ltd & Dulwich Centre Foundation Inc. What is Narrative Therapy? n.d. November 2016.

Schaffer, Kay and Sidonie Smith. “Conjunctions: Life Narratives in the Field of Human Rights.” Biography (2004): 1-24.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15399/15399-h/15399-h.htm