Dangers of Narrative and Fictionality: A Rhetorical Approach to Storytelling in Contemporary Western Culture

Abstract

The 21st-century story economy is grounded on the premise that everyone – from individual social media users to political parties and multinational corporations – needs to become storytellers. At the same time, we witness the erosion of borders between fact, fiction, truth and lies within the public sphere. This book by literary researchers helps different audiences understand and analyse the rhetorical uses and potential dangers of narratives and fictionality. The contributors deal with various contemporary storytelling environments, ranging from social and news media to literary autofiction, and from documentary narration to sexual fantasy. Narratives and fictionality are an asset in today’s communication environments, but awareness of their rhetorical and ethical pitfalls will make us better readers.