1.
Health Commun
; 25(8): 650-60, 2010 Dec.
Artigo
em Inglês
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21153981
RESUMO
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.