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Narrative and the Cultural Construction of Illness and Healing

Online ISBN:
9780520935228
Print ISBN:
9780520218246
Publisher:
University of California Press
Book

Narrative and the Cultural Construction of Illness and Healing

Cheryl Mattingly (ed.),
Cheryl Mattingly
(ed.)
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Published online:
24 May 2012
Published in print:
3 March 2001
Online ISBN:
9780520935228
Print ISBN:
9780520218246
Publisher:
University of California Press

Abstract

Stories of illness and healing are often arresting in their power, illuminating practices and experiences that might otherwise remain obscure. What can be learned through a comparative look at the range of narrative theories and styles of narrative analysis used by anthropologists to make sense of their ethnographic data? Do divergent strategies yield different understandings of the illness experience and healing practices? Does a focus on narrative detract from or conceal other, more fruitful avenues for exploration? Through the analysis of stories drawn from a variety of ethnographic contexts, the contributors to this book address such questions. The book unites medical anthropology and narrative analysis to illuminate how personal narrative shapes the architecture of illness and the life course it yields.

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