Revisiting thematisation in the narrative study of epilepsy

Journal/Book: Sociol Health Ill. 1999; 21: 108 Cowley Rd, Oxford Ox4 1Jf, Oxon, England. Blackwell Publ Ltd. 209-227.

Abstract: Taking as its point of departure the set of categorised themes developed by Schneider and Conrad in Having Epilepsy: The Experience and Control of Illness, the article focuses analytic attention on the individual theorising that produces these themes-in-action, Utilising 'illness narratives' of individuals with an epilepsy, I suggest that in qualitative sociological investigations into the illness experience there has been a narrative detachment from the very artfulness that articulates these themes. While there certainly is an appreciation of the experiential categorisation that individuals do within their storytelling in this genre of research, it has nevertheless been underappreciated in a tendency to consolidate what is told into workable thematic categories. In essence, the difference of experience has been placed aside, in many ways dictating what is looked for in the analysis itself.

Note: Article Faircloth CA, Univ Florida, Dept Sociol, 3219 Turlington Hall, Gainesville,FL 32611 USA

Keyword(s): chronic illness; epilepsy; story; narrative analysis; thematic categories; STIGMA; ILLNESS

Zurück | Weiter