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19 Pages : 228-237

http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2026(XI-I).19      10.31703/gssr.2026(XI-I).19      Published : Mar 2026

Constructing Scientific Identity through Narrative: A Life Writing Analysis of Hope Jahren's Lab Girl

    This paper examines the construction of scientific identity in Hope Jahren's Lab Girl (2016) through Life Writing Studies and Paul Ricoeur's theory of narrative identity. While previous research has focused on gender, environmental writing, and science communication, limited attention has been paid to how scientific identity is formed in the memoir. Using qualitative narrative analysis, the study explores how memories of childhood curiosity, laboratory experiences, scientific failures, friendships, and professional growth are woven into a narrative of becoming. Findings reveal that scientific identity develops gradually through autobiographical storytelling rather than existing as a fixed trait. The memoir demonstrates that identity is shaped by personal experiences, relationships, and reflection. By emphasising the role of narrative in presenting the lived experience of science, this study contributes to scientific memoir scholarship and extends Ricoeur's narrative identity theory to contemporary life writing and autobiographical studies.

    Scientific Memoir, Life Writing Studies, Narrative Identity, Narrative Analysis, Lab Girl
    (1) Hina Saeed
    M.phil English Literature, Qurtuba University of Science & Information Technology, D.I. Khan, KP, Pakistan.
    (2) Irfan Ali Shah
    Assistant Professor, Department of English, Qurtuba University Peshawar, Pakistan.
    (3) Moazma Tehseen
    BS Graduate, Department of English Faculty of Language & Literature, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

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