In her book After Empire, Sharon D Welch talks about Iris Marion Young’s “political functions of storytelling”:
- Storytelling may bring into public discourse an experience of oppression that is not recognized within existing categories of immoral or criminal activity. The example that Young gives is sexual harassment. Through personal stories, such experiences have moved from being regarded as merely a private matters to a widespread recognition of the social and political ramifications of such an abuse of power.
- When people disagree about what counts as a social problem or how social conflicts can best be addressed, narrative may reveal “the source of values, priorities, or cultural meanings.” It is easier to engage in productive disagreement and conflict when we more thoroughly understand the multiple reasons that people have for holding ideas we may see as erroneous or dangerous.
- Narrative can help us understand the effects that policies and actions are likely to have on individuals in different social situations. No matter how open our understanding, we cannot know the world from all locations and from all points of view. We need the insights of others to overcome our stereotypes and limited vision.
From Sharon D. Welch’s book After Empire. Her thoughts are based on Iris Marion Young’s Inclusion and Democracy (Oxford Political Theory).