Many of the sociology and anthropology faculty have been working on research projects this summer. One of Lisa Hall’s projects involves re-interviewing women 18 years after their initial interview. Dr. Hall says, “Nearly eighteen years ago, twenty women were interviewed, in-depth, about their experiences dealing with breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. The resulting data comprise what the social science literature calls “illness narratives”. This current project proposes (1) to conduct follow-up interviews in order to discover whether these women think breast cancer has had long-term physical, mental, emotional and social effects, and (2) to give women the opportunity to listen to their interview from 1996 and saliently respond. This research design makes it possible to address the variety of debates, within the social science literature, about the purpose, reliability, authenticity, and construction of “narratives”.
This research is cutting edge in design and will allow us to examine how people deal with breast cancer over their life course as well as broader, theoretical issues related to the social psychology of health and illness. Please contact Dr. Hall (look for the “Faculty and Staff” link on the main website) if you want learn more about here project.