Narratology in Practice

by Mieke Bal

Overview

Narratology in Practice opens up the well-known theory of narrative to various disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Written as a companion to Mieke Bal’s international classic Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative, in which the examples focus almost exclusively on literary studies, this new book offers more elaborate analyses of visual media, especially visual art and film. Read independently or in parallel with its companion, Narratology in Practice enables readers to use the suggested concepts as tools to assist them in practising narrative analysis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442628373
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	09/13/2021
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Mieke Bal is an award-winning cultural theorist, critic, video artist, curator, and professor of cultural analysis at the University of Amsterdam.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Figures
Preface
Introduction

I. Text: Signs

Preliminary Remarks

1. The Narrator
2. Non-Narrative Comments, Argumentative Narratives
3. Description
4. Levels of Narration

Remarks and Sources

II. Transition: Between Text and Society

Preliminary Remarks

1. Frame Narrative’s Invisible Frame
2. Con-Fusing Meanings
3. Between Narrative and Theatre
4. Con-Fusing Media

III. Story: Aspects

Preliminary Remarks

1. Temporality
2. Characters
3. Space 157
4. Focalisation

IV. Transition: Media in Dialogue

Preliminary Remarks

1. Novel and Film: A Two-Way Street
2. Text Making and Thinking Image
3. Image Making and Thinking in Images
4. Merging Everything

Remarks and Sources

V. Fabula: Elements

Preliminary Remarks

1. Events
2. Actors
3. Time
4. Location

No Conclusion
Remarks and Sources

References
Index of Names and Titles
Index of Concepts

What People are Saying About This

Jonathan Culler

"Narratology in Practice supplements Mieke Bal's popular book Narratology with a wide range of practical analyses to demonstrate the value of narratological methods and concepts for cultural analysis. Drawing on a wealth of personal experience as filmmaker and art critic, Bal explores the interdisciplinary character of narrative analysis in various media and its concrete contributions to thinking about politics and society."

Miguel Ángel Hernández

"A useful, engaging mosaic of concepts and practices, full of suggestions and absolutely contemporary, Narratology in Practice represents a further step in the already outstanding brilliance of Bal's theoretical proposals."

Marianne Hirsch

"This book is so much more than a companion to Mieke Bal's paradigm-changing Narratology. With lucidity, patience, and enormous pedagogical skill, it provides the tools necessary to understand what narrative is and what it does within and outside the literary."

Miguel Ángel Hernández

"A useful, engaging mosaic of concepts and practices, full of suggestions and absolutely contemporary, Narratology in Practice represents a further step in the already outstanding brilliance of Bal's theoretical proposals."

Editorial Reviews

"This book is so much more than a companion to Mieke Bal’s paradigm-changing Narratology. With lucidity, patience, and enormous pedagogical skill, it provides the tools necessary to understand what narrative is and what it does within and outside the literary."

—Marianne Hirsch, Columbia University

"Narratology in Practice supplements Mieke Bal’s popular book Narratology with a wide range of practical analyses to demonstrate the value of narratological methods and concepts for cultural analysis. Drawing on a wealth of personal experience as filmmaker and art critic, Bal explores the interdisciplinary character of narrative analysis in various media and its concrete contributions to thinking about politics and society."

—Jonathan Culler, Cornell University, and author of Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction

"A useful, engaging mosaic of concepts and practices, full of suggestions and absolutely contemporary, Narratology in Practice represents a further step in the already outstanding brilliance of Bal’s theoretical proposals."

—Miguel Ángel Hernández, University of Murcia

From the Publisher