Abstract
In this presentation I will discuss the potential of narrative methods to remedy the epistemic injustice that drug users experience within the drug-averse Swedish context, departing from my work with drug-involved women in Sweden.
Drug users and, more generally, drug-active individuals have been traditionally considered as unreliable sources of information, requiring the researcher to spend considerable time in the field to triangulate research results. This fits within the wider academic tradition of established hierarchies of knowledge, according to which the only believable knowers are middle-class and respectable researchers. Participants are viewed as vessels of knowledge, but not necessarily estimable ones at that: their experiences are meant to be mined by researcher(s), but their interpretations of their own experiences tend to be shunted to the side.
I will argue, however, in this presentation that we ought to consider participants as co-creators of the knowledge we produce. This leads us to centring their experiences in our research and prioritising their interpretations of their circumstances. I have found in my work that narrative methods are uncommonly well-suited for this theoretical and methodological departure point.
As my doctoral dissertation shows, participants are, first of all, extremely cognizant of how they are viewed by drug-sober people. This leads them to employ discursive strategies to portray themselves as reliable and respectable to counter the stigma and appear more reliable. Secondly, my research shows that participants conduct risky and stigmatised lives in Sweden because of their drug activity, but that there are also considerable pleasures attached to their involvement with drugs. These insights would not have been possible without the use of narrative methods.
Ultimately, I propose that we need greater insight into how drug active individuals experience drug-restrictive policies and the criminal justice agencies entrusted with enforcing these policies.
Drug users and, more generally, drug-active individuals have been traditionally considered as unreliable sources of information, requiring the researcher to spend considerable time in the field to triangulate research results. This fits within the wider academic tradition of established hierarchies of knowledge, according to which the only believable knowers are middle-class and respectable researchers. Participants are viewed as vessels of knowledge, but not necessarily estimable ones at that: their experiences are meant to be mined by researcher(s), but their interpretations of their own experiences tend to be shunted to the side.
I will argue, however, in this presentation that we ought to consider participants as co-creators of the knowledge we produce. This leads us to centring their experiences in our research and prioritising their interpretations of their circumstances. I have found in my work that narrative methods are uncommonly well-suited for this theoretical and methodological departure point.
As my doctoral dissertation shows, participants are, first of all, extremely cognizant of how they are viewed by drug-sober people. This leads them to employ discursive strategies to portray themselves as reliable and respectable to counter the stigma and appear more reliable. Secondly, my research shows that participants conduct risky and stigmatised lives in Sweden because of their drug activity, but that there are also considerable pleasures attached to their involvement with drugs. These insights would not have been possible without the use of narrative methods.
Ultimately, I propose that we need greater insight into how drug active individuals experience drug-restrictive policies and the criminal justice agencies entrusted with enforcing these policies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2022 Jun 16 |
| Event | The Third Narrative Criminology Symposium - Genoa, Italy Duration: 2022 Jun 16 → 2022 Jun 18 https://www.narrcrimgenoa2020.info/ |
Conference
| Conference | The Third Narrative Criminology Symposium |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Italy |
| City | Genoa |
| Period | 2022/06/16 → 2022/06/18 |
| Internet address |
Subject classification (UKÄ)
- Sociology
