Illness Negotiations and the Particular: Exploring Online Forum Interactions About Endometriosis

In: Analyzing Digital Discourses · 2021 · pp. 307–331 · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-84602-2_12 · W4205130290
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This paper analyzes online endometriosis forum interactions, using discourse analysis and Actor-Network Theory to show how participants shift between general disease descriptions and personal experiences to strengthen claims and broaden the illness category.

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This chapter analyzes online forum interactions to explore how individuals negotiate the disease of endometriosis through discourse. By combining discourse analysis with Actor-Network Theory, the study examines how interlocutors shift between general medical definitions and particular personal experiences to strengthen their claims and nuance the disease category. The findings highlight that these personal narratives help establish prerequisites for discussing illness experiences within the community. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — specifically focusing on the linguistic and social negotiation of the condition in digital support spaces.

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Abstract

Melander uses the increasingly debated disease endometriosis as an example to explore ongoing processes of negotiating a disease in unfolding forum interactions. Methodologically, the chapter explores a possible combination of discourse analytical tools with concepts from Actor-Network Theory, which more distinctly emphasize the unfolding practices, and ties the ongoing societal process to concrete linguistic practice. As the analysis demonstrates, the interlocutors make use of various shifts between general and particular aspects of the disease, most often represented by personal experiences. Such personal narratives can strengthen a claim put forward, as well as nuance and broaden the disease category. Melander also demonstrates the more or less established prerequisites that underline the interactions, thus pointing to the possible ways of discussing illness experiences in the forum. Access this chapter Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout Purchases are for personal use only Similar content being viewed by others Notes - 1. - 2. The questions marks are most likely a typing error, with quotations marks as the intended punctuation marks. The original website text uses quotation marks.

References

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Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Editor information Editors and Affiliations Rights and permissions Copyright information © 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG About this chapter Cite this chapter Melander, I. (2021). Illness Negotiations and the Particular: Exploring Online Forum Interactions About Endometriosis. In: Johansson, M., Tanskanen, SK., Chovanec, J. (eds) Analyzing Digital Discourses. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84602-2_12 Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84602-2_12 Published: Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham Print ISBN: 978-3-030-84601-5 Online ISBN: 978-3-030-84602-2 eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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