The Use and Abuse of Stories: New Directions in Narrative Hermeneutics

Narrative  practice has come under attack in the current "post-truth" era. In  fact, many associate "narrative hermeneutics"--the field of inquiry  concerned with reflection on the meaning and interpretation of  stories--directly with this putative movement beyond truth.

Challenging this view, The Use and Abuse of Stories argues that this broad arena of inquiry instead serves as a vitally  important vehicle for addressing and redressing the social and political  problems at hand. Hanna Meretoja and Mark Freeman have gathered an  interdisciplinary group of esteemed authors to explore how  interpretation is relevant to current discussions in narrative studies  and to the broader debate that revolves around issues of truth, facts,  and narrative. The contributions turn to the tradition of narrative  hermeneutics to emphasize that narrative is a cultural meaning-making  practice that is integral to how we make sense of who we are and who we  could be.

Addressing topics ranging from the dangers of political  narratives to questions of truth in medical and psychiatric practice,  this volume shows how narrative hermeneutics contributes to topical  debates both in interdisciplinary narrative studies and in the current  cultural and political situation in which issues of truth have gained  new urgency.