Summer 2020
FI540/840
Lee/Wong
FI540/840:
NARRATIVE AND FAMILY LIFE. C. Lee and A. Wong
DESCRIPTION:
This online course introduces students to the relevance of story
formation and revision in the lives of individuals and families; those who work
with family systems should appreciate their function as meaning-generating
social contexts. Lectures will draw together narrative concepts across
different fields of study, including both theological and psychological
perspectives. Topics include: the meaning-making function of narrative; the
relationship of plot, character, and conflict; narrative aspects of identity
development; family stories and rituals; and clinical applications, including a
review of narrative therapy. The application of narrative to broader conceptions
of transcendence, healing, and wholeness will be explored, with a particular
emphasis upon the themes of love and loss/suffering.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students
who successfully complete this course will (a) have a fundamental understanding
of how narrative constructs are applied in the psychotherapeutic and
theological literatures; (b) understand basic principles of narrative practice
and their implications for the church and pastoral counseling.
RELATIONSHIP TO SCHOOL AND SEMINARY LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The course
learning outcomes above serve the School of Psychology’s outcome of training students who are able to (a)
provide excellent preventative or transformational mental health services to
church and community, and (b) apply the insights of Christian theology along
with the knowledge and techniques of the social and behavioral sciences. This
in turn serves the larger seminary goals of training students who (a)
understand theology, ministry, and spirituality, and (b) are able to pursue
careers consistent with their education.
COURSE FORMAT:
This 4 unit online course requires watching and engaging asynchronously
with posted video lectures and related writing assignments. Optional
synchronous meetings will be made available for students who wish to delve more
deeply into the application of concepts and strategies from narrative therapy.
REQUIRED
READING:
The
following five books are required:
Coles, R. (1989). The call of stories. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin. ISBN-10: 0395528151, $14.95
Denborough, D. (2014). Retelling the stories of our lives. New York: Norton. ISBN-10:
0393708152, $23.95
Locke, T. (2019). From scratch: A memoir of love, Sicily, and finding home. New York:
Simon & Schuster. ISBN-10:
150118766X, $17.00
McAdams, D. (1997). The stories we live by. New
York: Guilford. ISBN-10: 1572301880, $39.00
White, M. (2007). Maps of narrative practice. New York: Norton. ISBN-10: 0393705161, $39.95
RECOMMENDED
READING:
Anderson, H. (1997). Conversation, language, and possibilities. New York: Basic. ISBN-10:
0465038050, $50.00
Andrews, M. (2014). Narrative
imagination and everyday life. New York: Oxford. ISBN-10: 019981239X,
$38.95
Berger, P., & Luckmann, T.
(1967). The social construction of
reality. Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday. ISBN-10: 0385058985, $16.95
Cron, L. (2012). Wired
for story. New York: Ten Speed. ISBN-10:
1607742454, $14.99
Fivush, R. (2019). Family narratives and the development
of an autobiographical self. New York: Routledge. ISBN-10: 1138037249, $52.95
Frank, A. W. (1995). The wounded storyteller. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press. ISBN-10:
0226259935, $20.00
Freedman, J. & Combs, G.
(1996). Narrative therapy. New York: Norton. ISBN-10: 0393702073,
$42.00
Gergen, K. (1994). Realities
and relationships. Cambridge: Harvard. ISBN-10: 0674749316, $34.00
Kindig, E. S. (1997). Remember the time? Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN-10:
0830819657 (out of print)
Kleinman, A. (1988). The
illness narratives: Suffering, healing, and the human condition. New York:
Basic. ISBN-10: 0465032044, $22.99
MacIntyre, A. (2007). After
virtue. 3rd ed. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame. ISBN-10:
0268035040, $29.00
Middleton, J. R. & Walsh,
B. J. (1995). Truth is stranger than it used to be. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity. ISBN-10: 0830818561, $22.00
Nelson, H. L. (Ed.) (1997). Stories
and their limits: Narrative approaches to bioethics. New York: Routledge. ISBN-10: 041591910X,
$54.95
Olson, R. (2015). Houston,
we have a narrative: Why science needs story. Chicago: University of
Chicago. ISBN-10: 022627084X, $20.00
Vogler, C.
(2007). The writer’s journey: Mythic
structure for writers. 3rd ed. Studio City: Michael Wiese. ISBN-10: 193290736X, $27.95
Zimmerman, J. L. (2018). Neuro-narrative
therapy: New possibilities for emotion-filled conversations. New York:
Norton. ISBN-10: 0393711374, $27.95
ASSIGNMENTS:
Grades
will be based on assignments written in response to lectures, completion of all
required readings, and two 5‐8 page term papers.
PREREQUISITES:
None.
RELATIONSHIP
TO CURRICULUM:
Meets FI requirement for Marriage and Family and Psy.D./Ph.D. Family
track; elective otherwise.
FINAL
EXAMINATION:
None.