Unpacking stored and storied knowledge: elicited biographies of activism in mental health

Milligan, Christine and Kearns, Robin and Kyle, Richard (2011) Unpacking stored and storied knowledge: elicited biographies of activism in mental health. Health and Place, 17 (1). pp. 7-16. ISSN 1873-2054

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Abstract

In this paper we consider the potential of autobiographical narratives for accessing ‘storied knowledge’ in research around geographies of health voluntarism. We firstly consider what is meant by elicited autobiography and how the narrative approach has been used in research more broadly. Drawing on fieldwork undertaken in Manchester, UK and Auckland, New Zealand we then demonstrate how this approach has helped us to map out and unpack the career journeys of mental health activists working within and across the voluntary and statutory sectors. Through our autobiographical narratives we illustrate how this approach has enabled us to elicit important insights into the triggers and trajectories underpinning mental health activism and how events and moments in time have provided critical junctures in these trajectories. We consider places as sites of significance in activist career paths; and as central to the researcher-participant gestalt within which the autobiography is elicited and recounted. The autobiographical process, we suggest, offers reflective insights into mental health activism that might not otherwise be gained using more conventional methodologies.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Health and Place
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/health/mentalhealth
Subjects:
?? ativismmental healthbiographiesmental healthhealth(social science)public health, environmental and occupational healthgeography, planning and developmentr medicine (general) ??
ID Code:
56358
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
30 Jul 2012 10:36
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
28 Nov 2023 11:15