so much for objectivity!!
rgds John
----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2000 2:22 AM
Subject: Narrative research discussion
> Hi everyone!
>
> It seems to me that the method of analysis, which reflects the
researcher's
> ideological stance) is a factor in the meaningfulness and usefulness of
> narratives of disabled persons. Is the intent of the researcher to
present
> the narrative within a medical model so that the interpretation becomes
one
> of "person overcoming tragedy" or does the researcher use the social
model
> or variant thereof to analyze the shared story with an emphasis on the
> contextual?
>
> Best,
>
> Beth
>
>
> Beth Omansky Gordon
> The George Washington University
> Washington, DC, USA
>
> Anita wrote:
> I am getting a feeling that there is a need for a fundamental
> clarification regarding use of narratives as a tool of social inquiry and
> an end in themselves. If the real solution lies within us and if personal
> is political, then where is the harm in listening to the voices of the
> fellow disabled. I will stand corrected, but aren't we assuming that the
> social model will not or has not posed problems of its own. Aren't we
> referring to a classical issue of subjectivity vs collectivity and the
> problem of engaging and negotiating with one at the cost of another. Like
> individual realities have the potential of taking us backward by virtue
of
> their variation, the nuances of social realities may pose the same
> dilemma. For a disabled woman and academician from the third world an
> absolute stance is rather confusing.
>
> There is so much in this short message that resonates extremely
powerfully.
> Although I'm not usually given to 'me too' messages, I want to say that
I'm
> absolutely behind Anita's thinking. What is particularly important for me
> is her final comment because the third world is the Majority World and we
> in the West are intent on colonising it instead of learning from it. When
I
> was working on my book 'Deaf Transitions', one of the narratives I
included
> was from a Deaf, Indian Hindu woman. She too was struggling with absolutes
> because she was being forced (by Western approaches to deaf education)
into
> an absolute way of thinking that incorporated only Deaf and hearing. This
> did not resonate with her cultural history. It interests me that when the
> book was reviewed, as its author, I was criticised for not toeing the line
> in relation to 'accepted theories' and models of 'deaf' development and
the
> life course. Whose theories and models, I wonder? Isn't this one way in
> which narratives are censored? I think most absolutes are a product of
> cherry-picking narratives that fit 'expert knowledge'. That is why we
don't
> like individual narratives. They destabilise 'accepted' ways of thinking.
>
> Best wishes
>
>
> Mairian
>
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