Plot and narrative. Two operations of social imagination

Abstract

This article develops the hypothesis that narrative and plot should be understood as two distinct concepts within contemporary narrative theory. The main argument for this distinction is that both narrative and plot are cognitive operations with specific purposes for different human activities, especially social imagination. This distinction, apparently obvious, is largely neglected in various contemporary currents of social theory when they use the term narrative. In so doing, they limit the analysis of the cognitive potential of this kind of discourse. This study will first present summarized definitions of both terms. This will be followed by a short excurse on the return of the concepts of structure and system within narrative studies. Third, it will introduce hypotheses about cognitive aspects activated by plot and narrative. Finally, various aspects of social imagination in which the two concepts could be applied will be presented.