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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Narratives of pain in later life and conventions of storytelling | | Author(s) | Bettina Becker |
| Journal title | Journal of Aging Studies, vol 13, no 1, 1999 |
| Pages | pp 73-88 |
| Keywords | Memory and Reminiscence ; Pain. |
| Annotation | Conventions of storytelling are discussed, with reference to two accounts of the experience of chronic pain that challenged the author's comprehension. To engage with these accounts and to reflect on hearing/reading practices, the author uses narrative analysis. Narrative analysis acknowledges the way people tell their story as integral to the meaning they convey. But definitions of narrative are often linear and causal, and are closely linked to the conventions of storytelling that are dominant in our culture. Recognising that link enables the listener/reader to go beyond; to follow disjointed, chaotic accounts that are not easy to hear, and to situate speakers within or outside of dominant discourses. She argues that such a hearing contributes to an understanding of the self which provides an alternative to the modernist idea of an autonomous, self-controlled and independent individual, an alternative which values older people's lives and narratives. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-000120212 A |
| Classmark | DB: CT7 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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