Dual Methodology in Analyzing Narratives in Social Spaces and Power from Below: The Articulation of Multi-level Narratives

Abstract

        This research employs a narrative analysis methodology, utilizing traditional ethnographic methods in Vietnam and digital ethnography in Thailand. The study incorporates ethnographic narrative tracking in a Vietnamese border town adjacent to Laos, transliteration of ancient Thai documents, and contemporary document research conducted between July 2021 and June 2022. This article aims to review theoretical concepts and present a methodology for analyzing narratives within social spaces and power-from-below dynamics, drawing from two case studies involving Tai ethnic groups and infertile women marginalized by societal norms emphasizing procreation. The study presents five key findings. First, the process of knowledge construction in social sciences and humanities related to narratives in social spaces and power-from-below dynamics comprises nine steps, resulting from selecting appropriate paradigms, positioning various narrative types, studying contexts, constructing narratives, operationalizing social spaces, and applying articulation concepts. Second, this methodology reveals dominant narratives that subjugate bottom-up knowledge, constructed through institutional mechanisms and practices of those in power, positioning them as truth. Third, social spaces are sites of collision and articulation of diverse narratives from both top-down and bottom-up sources, representing conflicts, power struggles, and negotiations among different groups using narratives to reconfigure power relations through contesting and reconstructing meanings of development. Fourth, the articulation of various narratives gives rise to emergent phenomena in local contexts and/or social lives of specific groups, constituting power from below. Fifth, this study expands the scope of micro-narrative analysis by integrating concepts from Lyotard, Wittgenstein, and Hall to examine narrative articulations within contemporary Vietnamese economic and political contexts, reflecting the dynamics of power negotiation in society through narratives as tools for driving change. Recommendations for future research include expanding the scope of investigation to enhance understanding of bottom-up narratives’ role in driving social and cultural change.