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“What’ S Wrong With That Woman?” – Positioning Theory And Information-Seeking Behaviour, Pamela J. Mckenzie, Robert Gene Carey

FIMS Presentations

Abstract We offer social positioning theory (Davies and Harre 1990) as a framework for exploring the ways in which the visibility of an individual’ s health status is linked to socially constructed subjectivities that can affect the individual’ s informationseeking behaviour. Qualitative analysis of data from two doctoral studies (collected through participant observation and 40 semi-structured interviews) illustrates the utility of social positioning theory as a framework for studying two specific health contexts: systematic lupus erythematosus, and twin pregnancy. Adopting a ‘ position’ involves the use of discursive practices which define the relations between self and others. Such practices frequently …