Risk in the Making: Narrative, Problematic Integration and the Social Construction of 'Risk' *Top Paper

• In Event: Making Sense of Collective Identities and Uncertainties: The Construction of Social Worlds from a Narrative Perspective

Abstract

Narrative plays a prominent role in interpretations and explanations of social reality, particularly in our efforts to make sense of uncertainties in time, such as the social construction of “risk.” This paper synthesizes narrative and problematic integration theory as a way to illuminate the construction of risk. We argue that the very existence of risks in our lives is constituted and signified through storied explanations, expectations, and evaluations of significant but uncertain experiences through time.

Authors

• Laura Russell, Ohio University

• Austin Babrow, Ohio University