Narrative, fragmentation and translation

Mustafa, Balsam 2022. Narrative, fragmentation and translation. Islamic State in Translation: Four Atrocities, Multiple Narratives, Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 13-38. (10.5040/9781350152014.ch-001)

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Abstract

This chapter begins with defining the concept of narrative from a social theory perspective. It aims to develop the theory itself by focusing on the fragmentation and transformation of narratives when they circulate in various discourses, genres and modes. My main argument is that the understanding of narrative as a fully configured sequence of events is inadequate, especially in so far as new media is concerned where fragments of narrative are more likely to be encountered. To study such fragmentation often overlooked in social or narratological approaches to narrative, I draw on the concept of antenarrative by Boje (2001), assuming that it precedes and at the same time interacts with the narrative types. The more abstract and reductive the narrative is, the more ruptured it is likely to be. This process is never static or ending; it is cyclic as narratives spread in various contexts. To examine this dissemination, I use a social semiotic multimodal approach to communication, particularly the resources of discourse, genre and mode (Kress, 2009) as the primary means to advance the analysis of narratives. They equally impact meanings and narratives through their specific affordances that can differ from one society to another. Drawing on insights from this approach, I reconsider translation in the digital media environment. Combining concepts from three different theories, I conclude the chapter by proposing an integrated analytical approach where I employ five tools drawing on Boje (2001), Baker (2006), Kress (2009), Abbott (2002) and Harding (2009). The tools are: selective appropriation, labelling, orchestration of modes, intertextuality and framing narratives and these will be used to analyse the four case studies of this book....

Item Type:	Book Section
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Modern Languages
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN:	9781350152014
Last Modified:	24 Jul 2025 15:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/179999

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