Counternarratives

Abstract

Broadly speaking, the term "counternarrative" refers to a narrative that takes on meaning through its relation with one or more other narratives. While this relation is not necessarily oppositional, it involves a stance toward some other narrative(s), and it is this aspect of stance, or position, that distinguishes counternarrative from other forms of intertextuality. As Bamberg and Andrews (2004) explained, "counter-narratives only make sense in relation to something else, that which they are countering. The very name identifies it as a positional category, in tension with another category" (p. X). Thus, researchers work to understand the concept and its occurrence and strategic use in organizations as a tool for understanding differing interpretations of organizational reality , including how members position themselves narratively, how tension can be made salient, and how resistance to change may become a resource rather than an obstacle.