A collective narrative (Richardson, 1995) can be developed by gathering the personal narratives of individuals and providing an overall narrative for the group. (2004) collected the stories of Santalis concerning health, happiness and constraints to the good life. He was able to give voice to both individuals and to a culture. Furthermore, he does so in light of the interdisciplinary model which is crucial to gaining a holistic understanding of any problem. Understanding the Santali narrative or any cultural narrative as one that includes economic, religious, historical, and political elements is indeed crucial for global health ethnographers. But at the same time, when a collective narrative is provided it too can silence people through its universalizing nature. Thus, the collective narrative approach has benefits and drawbacks. The collective narrative is especially valuable as it provides for social “the possibility action on behalf of the there are times that collective” (Richardosn, 1995, p. 214). Yet, or an embedded-culture’s the larger culture) stories are lost in the individual’s stories (within collective story. For instance, even though nearly half the respondents were women in the Santali collective narrative and stories were told, they were reported in individual women’s the research from the not from the In “Santali” perspective, “Santali women’s” perspective. addition, individual stories may have some unique idiosyncrasies. Richardson reminds researchers that any stories from the standard cultural plot provide new “that deviate and are not narratives” (p. 213) Author (1993, 1998) suggested “sequestered narratives” uncommon among the marginalized members of society. Indeed, even stories within stories need to be considered. And counter-narratives should definitely be included (Author, 2006). We believe the collective narrative via personal narratives is one means to explore global health issues within the culture-centered approach, but we also believe that another
A collective narrative (Richardson, 1995) can be developed by gathering the personal narratives of individuals and providing an overall narrative for the group. (2004) collected the stories of Santalis concerning health, happiness and constraints to the good life. He was able to give voice to both individuals and to a culture. Furthermore, he does so in light of the interdisciplinary model which is crucial to gaining a holistic understanding of any problem. Understanding the Santali narrative or any cultural narrative as one that includes economic, religious, historical, and political elements is indeed crucial for global health ethnographers. But at the same time, when a collective narrative is provided it too can silence people through its universalizing nature. Thus, the collective narrative approach has benefits and drawbacks. The collective narrative is especially valuable as it provides “the possibility for social action on behalf of the collective” (Richardosn, 1995, p. 214). Yet, there are times that individual’s stories or an embedded-culture’s (within the larger culture) stories are lost in the collective story. For instance, even though nearly half the respondents were women in the Santali collective narrative and individual women’s stories were told, they were reported in the research from the “Santali” perspective, not from the “Santali women’s” perspective. In addition, individual stories may have some unique idiosyncrasies. Richardson reminds researchers that any stories “that deviate from the standard cultural plot provide new narratives” (p. 213) and Author (1993, 1998) suggested “sequestered narratives” are not uncommon among the marginalized members of society. Indeed, even stories within stories need to be considered. And counter-narratives should definitely be included (Author, 2006). We believe the collective narrative via personal narratives is one means to explore global health issues within the culture-centered approach, but we also believe that another
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