Honest ink: Exploring the influence of inherited narratives on identity (re)construction

Shropshire, Victoria H. (2019) Honest ink: Exploring the influence of inherited narratives on identity (re)construction. DFA thesis, University of Glasgow.

Due to Embargo and/or Third Party Copyright restrictions, this thesis is not available in this service.
Printed Thesis Information: https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/record=b3356202

Abstract

This PhD work consists of 1) a full-length memoir and 2) a critical work that engages directly with the research and ideas that informed the book’s creation. My research explores the impact of inherited narratives on the development and (re)construction of identity, focusing specifically on the narratives of the “Other”, as (combinations of) socially constructed, culturally assigned, self-selected, and confessional narratives. I aim to combine survivor and illness (chronic and terminal) narratives with queer narratives through characters whose experiences in (re)constructing their identities ultimately reveal dark areas of humanity with both humility and humor.

I undertook this work using an autoethnographic methodology that situates my life as a cancer patient and a member of the queer community inside the support networks of a drag family/community incorporating the lenses of narratology and queer theory. I chose memoir as the creative component to this work because I believe memoir narratives are uniquely suited to bringing discussions of identity (re)construction in queer and illness narratives to modern (and mainstream) audiences.

Item Type: Thesis (DFA)
Qualification Level: Doctoral
Keywords: autoethnography, memoir, creative non-fiction, narrative, narratology, identity, identity (re)construction, inherited narrative, humor, dark humor, illness narrative, chronic illness, cancer, terminal illness, HIV/AIDS, AIDS, PLWA, queer, queer narrative, queer theory, drag, drag queen, drag culture, PTSD, cancer survivor, Doberman, other, othered narrative, derelict debutante,
Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies
Supervisor's Name: Jess-Cooke, Dr. Carolyn
Date of Award: 2019
Embargo Date: 28 May 2024
Depositing User: Victoria Shropshire
Unique ID: glathesis:2019-72986
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 04 Jun 2019 08:34
Last Modified: 14 Mar 2022 10:08
Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.72986
URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/72986

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year