A guiding premise for this research project has been that no human culture can emerge without defining itself by means of the telling of stories. We understand ourselves, our fellows, and our lives by incorporating them into narrative accounts. Investigations into various forms of narrative have contributed to the development of narrative theory. As this growing body of knowledge now plays an essential part in a wide range of academic disciplines, a significant part of the team’s work has been interdisciplinary in its orientation. Thus, although the basis for the project was literary studies, we studied not only verbal but also filmic fictions as well as historical narratives.

Throughout our year at CAS, a main premise for the team’s understanding and application of “narrative theory” has been – and still is – that narrative theory and analysis are, and should be, closely interrelated. Although narrative analysis has sometimes been seen as a purely formalist and technical activity, our work at CAS has been informed by the view that how a narrative is structured and understood (by both its creator and its interpreter) has fundamental interpretative and moral significance.