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Illness Narratives Revisited: The Failure of Narrative Reductionism

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  • Paul Atkinson

Abstract

The argument uses the proliferating research literature on ‘illness narratives’ to make a more general analytic point about the proper treatment of narratives and life-stories by social scientists. It is suggested that, notwithstanding earlier commentary and criticism, and despite the sophistication of authors such as Mishler, too many narrative-based studies fall far short of a thoroughly analytic approach to such spoken actions. Too often narratives are celebrated as the means for analysts to gain access to personal experience, to the subjective or private aspects of illness. It is argued that we still need analytic strategies that treat illness (or any) narratives as speech acts, based on socially shared resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Atkinson, 2009. "Illness Narratives Revisited: The Failure of Narrative Reductionism," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 14(5), pages 196-205, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:14:y:2009:i:5:p:196-205
    DOI: 10.5153/sro.2030
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Riessman, Catherine Kohler, 1990. "Strategic uses of narrative in the presentation of self and illness: A research note," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 1195-1200, January.
    2. Jordens, Christopher F. C. & Little, Miles & Paul, Kim & Sayers, Emma-Jane, 2001. "Life disruption and generic complexity: a social linguistic analysis of narratives of cancer illness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(9), pages 1227-1236, November.
    3. Katz, Arlene M. & Shotter, John, 1996. "Hearing the patient's 'voice': Toward a social poetics in diagnostic interviews," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 919-931, September.
    4. Ezzy, Douglas, 2000. "Illness narratives: time, hope and HIV," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 50(5), pages 605-617, March.
    5. Lillrank, Annika, 2003. "Back pain and the resolution of diagnostic uncertainty in illness narratives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(6), pages 1045-1054, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. William Housley & Robin James Smith, 2010. "Innovation and Reduction in Contemporary Qualitative Methods: The Case of Conceptual Coupling, Activity-Type Pairs and Auto-Ethnography," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 15(4), pages 36-46, November.
    2. Malcolm, Dominic & Orme, Mark W. & Morgan, Mike D. & Sherar, Lauren B., 2017. "Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), illness narratives and Elias's sociology of knowledge," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 58-65.
    3. J. D. Carpentieri & Jane Elliott & Caroline E. Brett & Ian J. Deary, 2017. "Adapting to Aging: Older People Talk About Their Use of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation to Maximize Well-being in the Context of Physical Decline," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(2), pages 351-361.
    4. Jane Fenton & Mark Smith, 2019. "‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work Academy," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-14, October.

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