Studying in the Narratives of Disabled Students Cover Image

Studiowanie w narracjach niepełnosprawnych studentów
Studying in the Narratives of Disabled Students

Author(s): Elżbieta Zakrzewska-Manterys, Agnieszka Kumaniecka-Wiśniewska
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: sociology of disability; narrative; identity; typification; triangulation

Summary/Abstract: The article discussed the problem of disabled persons performing the social role of a student. The authors analyse narratives as identity work. Narratives are framed in different contexts: trajectories of suffering in the meaning of Fritz Schutze, trajectories of identity and protective cocoon in the meaning of Anthony Giddens as well as transformations of identity including turning points and passing from one status to another as envisaged by Anselm L. Strauss. Subsequently, they are confronted with the concept of social personalities set forth by Florian Znaniecki in his book Ludzie teraźniejsi a cywilizacja przyszłości. The authors show that a combination of Znaniecki’s “typifying” conception with individualistic concepts of biographical method many be particularly fruitful in the research of unusual situations, one of which may be a disabled person performing the role of a student. The starting point is a report from research conducted in 2011 on a sample of 60 persons. Four interviews are presented, which exemplify the types of disabled students “social personality” distinguished as a result of an analysis of all 60 interviews: “big child”, “mentor”, “self-reliant” and “hyperactive”.

  • Issue Year: 213/2014
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 129-152
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: Polish