Narratives in Illness: A Methodological Note

Lars-Christer Hydén

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.4.3.04

Authors

Lars-Christer Hydén Narratives in Illness: A Methodological Note

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.4.3.04

Keywords:

Narrative, Methodology, Identity, Performance, Ethnography, Video analysis

Abstract

As a result of the general growth in the interest in narratives different conception of what a story is and how to analyze has emerged. One especially interesting and methodological relevant difference is between the conception of narratives as textual objects and narratives as part of a storytelling event. The paper discusses the theoretical differences between these two analytical approaches to narratives. An example from my own research on Alzheimer’s patients telling stories illustrate the possibilities of using a performative and micro ethnographic approach to the study of storytelling in order to understand the functions of narratives – especially in relation to identity work. If stories not only are thought of as representations of events it becomes possible to view stories and story telling as social action: social states are both established, negotiated and changed through stories. This is especially important in the field of health and illness where diseases almost always are embedded in conversations and the telling of why and how symptoms were discovered or traumas received. For many patients and persons with especially communicative disabilities story telling is a challenge, but also an opportunity to actually master, maintain and often transform their identities.

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Author Biography

Lars-Christer Hydén, Narratives in Illness: A Methodological Note

Lars-Christer Hydén received his PhD in Psychology from Stockholm University. His current position is as full professor at the Department of Medicine and Health, Linköping University, Sweden. He is also visiting professor at the University College of Bodö, Norway. His research primarily concerns the use of narrative in psychological and social contexts, especially in the area of health and illness. He has published extensively in international journals and edited a number of books about narrative research.

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