Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education

 

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

9-2013

Citation

Published in Qualitative Inquiry 19:9 (2013), pp. 664– 673; doi: 10.1177/1077800413500931

Comments

Copyright © 2013 Theresa Catalano and John W. Creswell; published by Sage Publications. Used by permission.

Abstract

In the expanding area of narrative inquiry, researchers often battle with the decision of how to analyze/interpret data. The aim of this article is to propose the use of cognitive linguistics as a tool in narrative analysis using as a case illustration interviews conducted in October/November 2011 with participants in the Occupy movement (Occupy). Results expose important metaphors/metonymies that reveal much about the perception of the movement by its inceptors. Not only did the analysis present the movement as a war and a force against government corporations, oppression, and inequality, but it was also seen as a strong structure and a family/community that needed to be awakened, fed, heard, seen, and felt. The contribution of this article lies not only in a greater understanding of Occupy but also in a demonstration of the value that an in-depth cognitive linguistic analysis has to offer in narrative inquiry.

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