44: Narrative

Narrative has an attraction so powerful that it cuts across a wildly divergent audience. At City College, Latinos of all backgrounds (30%), African-Americans (30%), international students (25%), Caucasians (11%), and other students define the intellectual culture of the undergraduate student body. It is hard to imagine a common ground, so diverse are their narrative styles, colorful phrases, and new historical emphases. I once noticed a student dancing in front of two others. As I approached, it dawned on me that in fact she was telling a story. “Certain things that happen in American history, you remember exactly where you were at,” she was saying, “I remember where I was the day the Notorious B.I.G. died.” Thus has BIG replaced JFK as the assassination touchstone. Historical narrative changes. The student proceeded to Cornell on a full PhD fellowship—in history, needless to say.