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Working Definition:
A narrative routine is a brief sequence of events that is a part
of everyday life attributed to a character in a narrative. For example, "going
to the Cotton Club" in Virtual Harlem involves a series of events which differ depending
on the character being portrayed. In the everyday life of a young African American
in 20s Harlem a routine of "going-to-the-Cotton-Club" might involve:
leaving a girl friend's parent's flat, walking home, having supper, changing
clothes, walking several blocks to the Club, entering the back door, putting
on a waiter's uniform, and waiting on tables. By contrast, in the everyday
life of a young white New Yorker "going-to-the-Cotton-Club" might
involve quite a different routine: leaving his office, stopping for dinner
with a friend at a restaurant in Manhatten, taking a cab to the Cotton Club
after dinner, entering the front door, being seated at a table, being waited
on while listening to music or watching the show.
Disciplinary Definitions:
The term, "routine" is not in any disciplinary terminology of which I am aware. I have used it in a technical sense in "A Design for Narrating History in Virtual Reality Scenarios" as a habitual practice involving a sequence of events. (Configuring History, 61ff). Everyday life is made up of habitual routines. These routines make up the fabric of our lifestyles. When you move from one neighborhood to another or go from one country to another, the routines differ. If we think of "routines" as comprised of cultural practices like going dancing, shopping, to church, for a walk, to a play, then it becomes possible to acquaint students with the culture of Harlem during its Renaissance by dramatizing its routine "practices of everyday life" (Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life).
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jjs
last revised:
June 13, 2007
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