Narrative Identities: Psychologists Engaged in Self-Construction

In this thoughtful collection, 13 eminent psychologists from diverse schools of thought - including social constructionism, narrative psychology, feminism, phenomenology and psychoanalysis - examine their professional identities in the context of their personal biographies. The contributors address challenging questions about identity in relation to personality development, language and socialisation. They demonstrate how their cultural and historical contexts influenced their theoretical approaches to the nature of 'self' and how these ideas in turn shaped how they perceive their personal histories. This unique insight into the lives of highly influential psychologists is a valuable reference and compelling reading for psychologists reflecting on their professional practice, and for anyone investigating issues of selfhood and identity from a psychological or philosophical perspective.

Table of Contents:
Preface. 1. The Poetics of My Identity, Theodore R. Sarbin, University of California, Santa Cruz. 2. Lessons from Relics about Self and Identity, Karl E. Scheibe, Wesleyan University. 3. Objects, Meanings, and Connections in My Life and Career, David E. Leary, University of Richmond. 4. From Poppies to Ferns: The Discursive Production of a Life, Gerald Monk, San Diego State University. 5. Performing a Life (Story), Lois Holzman, Eastside Institute. 6. A Psychologist without a Country, or Living Two Lives in the Same Story, Dan P. McAdams, Northwestern University. 7. Life as a Symphony, Christopher M. Aanstoos, State University of West Georgia. 8. Moving On by Backing Away, John Shotter, University of New Hampshire. 9. Living with Authority in "The Between", Hendrika Vande Kemp. 10. The Personal/Psychological and the Pursuit of a Profession, Adelbert H. Jenkins, New York University. 11. On Growing up as a "Pre-Modernist", Steen Halling, Seattle University. 12. Life Reflections of a Nomadic Subject, Tod Sloan, Lewis and Clark College. 13. Autobiography, Ilene Serlin.

About the Author :
George Yancy has held distinguished fellowships at Duquesne University, Pennsylvania, and New York University. His recent books include What White Looks Like: African-American Philosophers on the Whiteness Question and The Philosophical I: Personal Reflections on Life in Philosophy. His philosophical interests include narrative conceptions of the self, race and racism, and African-American thought. Susan Hadley is an associate professor in music therapy at Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania. She edited Psychodynamic Music Therapy: Case Studies and Feminist Voices in Music Therapy. Susan's other interests include narrative therapy, feminism, and psychodynamic music therapy.

Review :
'What a fascinating and illuminating work! Yancy and Hadley have succeeded in stimulating a group of accomplished narratologists in psychology... to deliberate on the ways in which their life experiences are related to their scholarly explorations of narrative. The authors...grace us with illuminating and articulate insights into the close linkages between personal and intellectual development.' - Ken Gergen, Mustin Professor of Psychology, Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, and Mary Gergen, Professor of Psychology & Women's Studies, Penn State University, Delaware 'I found Yancy and Hadley's collection of intellectual autobiographies a rich source for understanding and insight into the lives and innovations of the psychologists who are leading the development of the new approaches in psychology.' - Donald E. Polkinghorne, PhD, Attallah Chair of Humanistic Psychology, University of Southern California