Unconcealment

Abstract

Storytelling is central to human understanding and knowledge. Through listening, reflecting, and retelling a story, new discoveries can be made and an unconcealment, of something that would otherwise remain hidden, occurs. This article uses my experience of undertaking life story research with male ex-prisoners to explore a number of issues raised by Jewkes in her article on doing prison research differently. I suggest that concerns about research "contamination" impact how we do research and how we respond to the emotional experience of doing ethnographic research in criminology. The first potentially restricts modes of analysis, such as intertextual readings of interviews, while the second may prevent a more humanistic relationship between researcher and participant developing. Contamination, rather than something that we connect with polluting, spoiling, or dirtying, should be embraced as offering the potential for revealing new knowledge and ways of doing research differently.

4. Understandings of the Natural World from a Generational Perspective

“…Therefore, I argue that he may still be going through the process of accepting the knowledge that he has killed a youngster, incorporating it into his self-understanding. In line with Farrant's (2014) points (and drawing on Heidegger), I argue that talking to me assisted the phenomenon to come to life, and Nick to come to life, too. This means that Nick is becoming conscious of the part of him that, under specific circumstances, lost control and beat up another human being so violently that the young person died of the injuries.…”

“…The materiality of life and the challenges of life outside of prison became increasingly evident and more difficult to handle. As Farrant (2014) found with other prisoners, Nick displayed some but not all of his often contradictory and multifaceted stories of self.…”

“…Inspired by Ollman, I understand Nick's wanting to be visible and non-visible at the same time as a contradictory relation. Farrant (2014), drawing on Heidegger and the concept of unconcealment, argued that storytelling and stories make ourselves and the other come to life. By sharing stories, the sharers come to life.…”

2. From Experience to Language in Narrative Practices in Therapeutic Education in France

“…Ex-prisoners do not have a complete choice as to how, and in which directions, their return to or reintegration into society goes. Societal discourses about, for instance, 'the criminal', 'the monster', or 'the deviant', influence prisoners' self-narratives (Farrant, 2014), so the identity of prisoners and ex-prisoners can be understood as one constructed in relation to such societal discourses.…”

Storycrafting refugee children’s lives. Presenting Ali and the Long Journey to Australia

“…Stories give us the power to imagine what our futures could look like or what to make out of our pasts (MacIntyre, 2013). Through stories we can come to know the world and ourselves, make discoveries, find things that have been hidden in the shadows, and find ways to speak of what has been unspoken (Farrant, 2014). Artistic, fictionised research forms have the potential to engage with non-academic audiences, problematise stereotypes, and influence policy and public attitudes unlike many other research approaches.…”