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Published on: February 16, 2011
Problematizing therapeutic assumptions about narratives: a case study of storytelling events in a post-conflict
1School of Communication Studies, Ohio University, Lasher Hall 037, Athens, OH 45701, USA. colec@ohio.edu
Abstract:
Narrative approaches to health communication research have often been characterized by assumptions of the therapeutic and ameliorative effect of narratives. In this article, I call these assumptions into question by critically engaging extant research in narrative health communication research in light of testimony by a participant in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Drawing on his personal narrative, numerous retellings of his story in public and academic discourse, and his responses to his story's appropriation, I demonstrate the importance of conducting narrative research and theorizing with an appreciation of its therapeutic potential, as well as its ability to harm.
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