Stories of Survival - (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This book builds the foundation of a methodology for the quantitative

analysis of the folk narrative system. Just as anthropology uses analyses of

different cultures to examine the human past; researchers could use analyses of our

oldest form of literature, the folk narrative, to examine aspects of worldwide

culture and changes in culture over time. This book

develops a quantitative methodology based in part on small, grammatically

defined units. For this type of analysis to be viable, careful consideration of many

aspects of the folk narrative system is required.

Chapter One presents the qualities of the folk narrative that make it an

apposite choice for investigations of worldwide cultures and cultural changes over

time. These qualities include: the fundamental importance and cross-cultural nature

of the folk narrative; the reliable development of narrative ability in all humans;

the ability of the folk narrative to convey information; and the large number of

collected folk narratives as a resource.

Chapter Two explores different styles of literary analysis with a focus on

structural content analysis and the types of information that have resulted from the

use of these different styles. Multiple types of structural analysis by both folklorists

and linguists are considered. The grammatical unit chosen for the methodology

presented in this paper - nominative case - is a specifically and externally defined,

countable unit that is able to operate cross-culturally and that has connection to

meaning on a larger scale.

Chapter Three is a paper in which nominative case in a random set of tales

was counted. This paper operates as a test of the unit and also serves to corroborate

the idea that the difference between the predominant gender in tales told by males and females is large enough to impact on a data set which does not control for

gender.

Chapter Four lays the groundwork for the expansion of the methodology

from a random set of tales in a large, academic library to a worldwide

representative data set using Murdock's compilation of cultural divisions

(Murdock). In addition, the presented methodology is expanded to include the

many interactive parts of what is termed the folk narrative system. Certain parts of

the folk narrative system which should be considered are outlined but it is noted

that there are probably many more parts of the system which can be studied. The

expansion of the methodology to an investigation of the folk narrative as a system

enables the quantitative analysis to remain connected to the matrix of culture, text,

storyteller, environment and other factors. The result of any specific study is seen

in the context of other influences that change as the investigated parts change. This

chapter concludes with a discussion of the way in which this methodology enables

one to access a wide range of information.