Individuality and Continuity in Narrating across Generations

This article explores the commonalities of structure in the life histories of a mother and her daughter. I argue that sharing the same story does not preclude the existence of a strong and distinctive sense of self. Agency and selfhood are intimately connected with interpretation and the pursuit of understanding. In order to illuminate this relationship, I draw upon ideas of musical form and interpretation that suggest how this might come about

Varieties of deception and distrust: moral dilemmas in the ethnography of psychiatry

This article considers the ethical guidelines concerning autonomy, negotiated consent and transparency in relation to an ethnography of psychiatry. It suggests that the complexities and unequal power distribution of the psychiatric consultation make these guidelines difficult to apply. Rather an attempt is made to develop an ethics of patient acknowledgement even where this presents ethical misgivings vis-à-vis psychiatrists. I argue for the importance of ethnography rather than the instantiation of abstract principles to the development of an ethical perspective

English madness : ideas on insanity, 1580-1890 /

Bibliography: p. [148]-158.Includes index

Narratives of Survival and the Politics of Memory

Narratives of survival illustrate a number of converging theoretical issues of importance for life-history writing. On the one hand, personal memory strives for connection with shared structures of thought: little stories seek to attach themselves to big stories. On the other hand, nation building shapes personal memory to serve its political grand narratives. In the interstitial space room must be found for the articulation of the experience of little individuals.</jats:p