Selections of reality: applying Burke's dramatism to a harm reduction program

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Public Health
• Rhetoric

Background:

• Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is a harm reduction strategy for chronic drug users.
• Staff accounts within MMT centers offer insights into program operations and social realities.
• Kenneth Burke's dramatistic perspective provides a framework for analyzing social interactions and narratives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply Kenneth Burke's dramatistic perspective to staff narratives in Copenhagen's MMT centers.
• To examine how staff construct the ideal of governmentality to justify and critique MMT program operations.
• To explore the potential of dramatism as a tool for sociological critique of social policies.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of staff member accounts from methadone maintenance treatment centers in Copenhagen.
• Application of Kenneth Burke's dramatistic pentad (scene, purpose, agent, agency, acts) to narrative elements.
• Qualitative examination of rhetorical relationships within staff accounts to understand social criticism.

Main Results:

• Staff members utilize Burke's pentad to articulate justifications and criticisms of the MMT program.
• The ideal of governmentality is constructed and negotiated through the staff's dramatistic accounts.
• Analysis reveals how rearranging pentadic elements can generate new meanings and support alternative actions.

Conclusions:

• Kenneth Burke's dramatistic perspective offers a valuable lens for understanding staff perspectives in harm reduction programs.
• The study demonstrates the utility of dramatism for critiquing social policies and programs.
• Sociologists can further develop critical dramatism to analyze and challenge social policies.