Sociological Observations
2 total works
This volume - a probing ethnographic study of the process of recovery from alcoholism - is the first sustained, in-depth analysis of the lived experiences of the recovering alcoholic. Drawing on many case studies and extensive personal experience, Denzin investigates and analyzes the phenomenology of drinking and alcoholism. He considers: the factors which make alcoholics seek treatment; the social stigmas which face the recovering alcoholic; and other difficulties which hinder the recovery process. He also outlines the ways in which groups like Alcoholics Anonymous are effective.
Denzin offers a uniquely phenomenological approach to explain the development of an alcoholic′s sense of self that is fragmented, defensive and subjective. He discusses behavioural and psychoanalytic theories of the problem and considers the views of alcoholics themselves. He places the disease within a broader social context, arguing that the alcoholic′s internal conflicts reflect the dichotomies and contradictions in society.