Studying Lives through Literature: Using Narrative to Teach Social Sciences and Promote Students' Epistemological Growth
Abstract
The author argues for the inclusion of narrative literature in social science courses. Narrative literature enhances students' understanding of scientific content by elucidating theoretical and empirical concepts with concrete examples. Narrative also may promote students' epistemological growth by demonstrating how truth and reality are constructed differently by different ways of knowing. Students must consider the role of the author's voice, motives, and memory in reconstructing truth. Balancing narrative with scientific material helps students realize that knowledge arises through a process of construction, and that this construction can occur in subjective, relative positions as well as objective, absolute positions. It also raises students' awareness of the diversity and complexity of human experience. Evidence of the effectiveness of autobiographical literature is presented, and suggestions for integrating literature into courses are offered.
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