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Accessing Vulnerability – Investigating narratives of vulnerability at DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture

Raasthøj Hansen, Marie LU (2015) SIMV15 20151
Education
Master of Science in Social Studies of Gender
Graduate School
Abstract
The question ‘What is Vulnerability’ is hard to answer. This thesis deals with this question by investigating narratives of vulnerability amongst staff members at DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture. Drawing on the thoughts, theories and epistemology of understanding vulnerability by Erinn C. Gilson and Judith Butler, this thesis seeks to uncover how vulnerability is narrated amongst staff who work with what they themselves call vulnerable groups. Based on a social constructivist methodology, the analysis investigates three themes of the narratives; normality, ambivalence and power representation, finding that it is the very ambivalence between the perceived and spoken normality of the individual and the perceived and spoken... (More)
The question ‘What is Vulnerability’ is hard to answer. This thesis deals with this question by investigating narratives of vulnerability amongst staff members at DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture. Drawing on the thoughts, theories and epistemology of understanding vulnerability by Erinn C. Gilson and Judith Butler, this thesis seeks to uncover how vulnerability is narrated amongst staff who work with what they themselves call vulnerable groups. Based on a social constructivist methodology, the analysis investigates three themes of the narratives; normality, ambivalence and power representation, finding that it is the very ambivalence between the perceived and spoken normality of the individual and the perceived and spoken normality of the vulnerable groups which feeds and creates power relations. It all boils down to a discussion of the findings of the analysis focusing on the power of choosing to own ones vulnerability and the implications for the power structures surrounding the term vulnerability. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Raasthøj Hansen, Marie LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMV15 20151
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
power structures, NGO, Vulnerability, normality, social constructivism, Erinn C. Gilson, Judith Butler, feminism
language
English
id
7792358
date added to LUP
2015-09-10 15:08:38
date last changed
2015-09-10 15:08:38
@misc{7792358,
  abstract     = {{The question ‘What is Vulnerability’ is hard to answer. This thesis deals with this question by investigating narratives of vulnerability amongst staff members at DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture. Drawing on the thoughts, theories and epistemology of understanding vulnerability by Erinn C. Gilson and Judith Butler, this thesis seeks to uncover how vulnerability is narrated amongst staff who work with what they themselves call vulnerable groups. Based on a social constructivist methodology, the analysis investigates three themes of the narratives; normality, ambivalence and power representation, finding that it is the very ambivalence between the perceived and spoken normality of the individual and the perceived and spoken normality of the vulnerable groups which feeds and creates power relations. It all boils down to a discussion of the findings of the analysis focusing on the power of choosing to own ones vulnerability and the implications for the power structures surrounding the term vulnerability.}},
  author       = {{Raasthøj Hansen, Marie}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Accessing Vulnerability – Investigating narratives of vulnerability at DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}