Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Investigating the Role of Meta-Narratives in Personal and Collective Identity

Southern Methodist University, Dallas TX

Investigators

Abstract

Graduate student Michael R Fisher, supervised by Dr. Robert V. Kemper, will undertake research on how people's ideas about themselves are affected by dominant public narratives, or meta-narratives. He will use Tibetans as a case example. This will be accomplished through a comparison of two sites, Xining, China, and Dharmasala, India, where Tibetans are portrayed quite differently. The Chinese portray Tibetans as backwards and in need of development, while the refugee Tibetans in Dharmasala are portrayed as essentially peaceful and religious. The overarching research question is how are these differences felt and internalized at the level of the individual. At each site, the researcher will carry out six months of research. He will document the meta-narratives produced by the Chinese and Tibetan governments by attending public events and reading and watching public media. Then the researcher will test the power of meta-narratives in shaping personal memories and personal narratives by conducting life-history interviews with a quota sample of 90 Tibetans in Xining and 90 Tibetans in Dharmasala, and by collecting personal written narratives from asking a sub-sample of 20 at each site, as well. These materials will be analyzed using discourse analysis techniques as well as content coding to reveal patterns that can be analyzed statistically. This research will help social scientists to understand the dynamic nature of narratives in the lives of individuals and collectives. It will uncover how personal and subjective experiences are made public and objective for society-level purposes, and shed light on the importance of global media and the control of images in political struggles and international marketing. By supporting graduate doctoral research, the award also contributes to science education.