The Emergence of Narrative and the Discovery of Humanism Curriculum and Research Lessons from the Italian Renaissance

Abstract

This paper returns to the roots of European Humanism to rediscover the moral and political base for contemporary narrative inquiry. A brief analytical review is conducted of forms of artistic representation from C15th/C16th Florentine painting to reveal steps taken to use narrative form in the pursuit and advocacy of humanist method. This is placed within the frame of a Ricoeur (1989) four-stage typology for narrative method. The paper closes with an argument that social and educational research should be guided by Humanist principles in its aims, but also in its method – Humanist in intent, Humanist in substance.

Keywords:

• Narrative,
• Curriculum,
• Curriculum Inquiry,
• Humanism,
• Renaissance