Diane Shipley

Email: d.shipley@lancaster.ac.uk

Thesis Title

Against Recovery: a creative and critical exploration of alternatives to restorative chronic illness narratives in first-person creative nonfiction

Institution

Lancaster University

Supervisors

Dr Sara Wasson
Dr Zoe Lambert

Research Summary

This research addresses how disabling illness is portrayed in first-person creative nonfiction, comprising an autoethnographic, interdisciplinary work of creative nonfiction alongside a critical reflection on its creation.

The creative component – a collection of literary essays – will synthesise memoir with existing biomedical and sociological research to interrogate the challenges of inhabiting a chronically ill body amid multiple public health crises in an ageist, ableist society that too often equates physical fitness with morality. Examining personal and societal attitudes to sickness and disability, the manuscript will explore how our bodies constrain our lives and the extent to which they can be expanded, extended or transcended.

Research Interests

Creative nonfiction
Chronic illness
Autoethnography
Pathography
Narrative
Disability studies
Crip theory

Publications

Shipley, D. (2023) ‘Knowledge of Missing Out,’ Identity Theory, www.identitytheory.com/fomo-diane-shipley/ [identitytheory.com]