Narratives of Power: Students’ Stories and Situated Practices in Real and Virtual Spaces

• In Event: Narratives at the Boundaries: Research Positioned in the Borderland Spaces

Abstract

This paper examines the ways technologies of power (Foucault, 1977)—space, surveillance, and documentation—can shape student-generated narratives and presentations of self (Goffman, 1959) in virtual and traditional settings. Juxtaposing data from two separate studies, this paper explores the dynamic construction of student narratives in an online forum and a traditional classroom, revealing how students develop empowering narratives within and beyond normalizing structures. In so doing, this paper repositions Foucault’s concept and helps researchers and educators consider how students develop reflective narratives that situate them individually, socially, and academically.

Authors

• Sandra Schamroth Abrams, Saint John's University

• Mary Beth Schaefer, Saint John's University