The Standpoint of Storyteller

Abstract

The legitimacy of an interest in illness narratives that is therapeutic, emancipatory, and pre-occupied with ethics is defended in response to Atkinson’s critique of this interest as a blind alley. The value of storytelling as complementary to story analysis is argued, and the importance of recognizing one’s own standpoint is emphasized. The conclusion considers how qualitative methods can inform changing relationships between illness, health, medicine, and culture.