PERCEPTIONS OF DECLINE: CRISIS, SHRINKING AND DISAPPEARANCE AS NARRATIVE SCHEMAS TO DESCRIBE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE
PERCEPTIONS OF DECLINE: CRISIS, SHRINKING AND DISAPPEARANCE AS NARRATIVE SCHEMAS TO DESCRIBE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE

Summary/Abstract: Since the breakdown of the socialist system, Europe has been seized by a tremendous acceleration of social and cultural change that has questioned basic certainties of modern societies such as unlimited growth, lasting increase of social security, stable nation-states and systems of equality, just to mention some. This dramatic change is in general often perceived as decline or loss. In this article I present three narrative schemas, which grasp the experience of decline – crisis, shrinking and disappearance. These narratives are not only stories; they are always connected to action and therefore develop their own directive force. I have collected the material in Germany over years. My research has revealed these three main narrative schemas, which are part of modernity at large but developing their special persuasiveness under particular circumstances. That is why I will show their rhetorical use where they are applied, adjusted to special situations and purposes, and the wide-ranging vocabulary that is connected to them. At the same time, however, I aim to make clear that the usage of these narratives is not limited to these examples, but it can be related to more general sociological interpretations of contemporary processes.

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