Episode Seven: The ‘Dangers of Narrative’ with Maria Mäkelä and Samuli Björninen

 

In this ‘What’s new’ episode of Narrative Now we speak to Finnish narratologists Maria Mäkelä and Samuli Björninen, Tampere University, about their innovative research project named ‘Dangers of Narrative’. Taking a critical approach to the proliferation of storytelling in the public sphere, especially the use of personal narratives, Mäkelä and Björninen devised a new method utilising social media to invite the public to submit examples of such dubious uses of stories. In this episode we ask what they see as the problems in the value ascribed to personal stories and the challenges that arose during the research.