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Citation: 

Straub, Jürgen. “Telling Stories, Making History: Toward a Narrative Psychology of the Historical Construction of Meaning.” In Narration, Identity and Historical Consciousness, edited by Jürgen Straub, 44-98. New York: Berghahn Books, 2005.

Abstract/Summary: 

History is not simply a ‘medium’ for groups to understand their past, present and futures but individuals also use the horizon of history to reflect. We understand our lives in part historically. The author attempts to answer four questions throughout the chapter which is meant to advance the psychology of the historical construction of meaning. The primary goal of the chapter is to justify that narration is central to the psychology of historical construction of meaning. The author begins by discussing history as meaning and how it is constructed in our structured world. In theory historical relatives themselves are constructed and many do not survive the moment of their construction. According the author, history is comprised of stories that concern, affect and move many people. History represents that which has happened and also the subsequent representations. The author then describes historical consciousness through a competence-theoretical approach. The next section of the article focuses on and further explains the concept of historical consciousness. In the following section the author explains the significance of narrative as a construction of history. The author describes the different functions of the historical-narrative constructions and justifies the conception of historical consciousness as thought or intelligence. The author concludes by stating the historical consciousness is only a small part of the broader psychology of the historical construction of meaning. 

Source/Credit: 
Erika Smith