Dempsey, Niall
(2022)
The Ramblings of a Bockedy Man, Vol. 1:
an autoethnographic review of disability in
the context of reorienting a 'spoiled identity.'.
Masters thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Abstract
In this thesis, I am adopting an interpretivist position in that I scrutinise the world around me,
my place in that world and the reality of this positioning. I, subjectively, examine this reality
and positioning. As an inquiry into the congenitally disabled male experience, my thesis seeks
to make honest and authentic contributory claims to knowledge by examining the interplay of
disability with Goffman’s studies regarding shame and ‘the spoiled identity.’ Approached
through an autoethnographic lens, I examine ‘identity’ and its tentative reorientation through
Freirean consciousness and Mezirow’s Theory of Transformative Learning.
I set this work is in the context of my experiences as a congenitally, disabled man taking part
in the 2002 Cutty Sark Tall Ship’s Race. It was a seminal episode in my life prior to which I
had come to recognise that I was falling significantly behind my peers in terms of educational
attainment, career opportunities and in my relationships. I was literally ‘all at sea.’
Then I joined the ship!
The sea proved emancipatory. It was while in the middle of the Bay of Biscay that I began to
consciously reflect on my life choices and the role disability played in the actualisation and
determination of those choices. And it was at sea that I started to see myself for the first time
in terms of capability rather than disability. Further, the exhilaration of witnessing up-close the
majesty and power of the ocean effected a renewed zest for life and a desire to acquire the
knowledge to best live that life. It was here that I started to question my foundational ‘frames
of reference,’ and presuppositions regarding identity, ideals, desires, and expectations. It was
aboard the Anne-Margaretha that I first began to realise that my own life experiences as a man
with a disability were atypical and in that, had a value. It was here that I began to open up to
tell my own story.
| Item Type: |
Thesis
(Masters)
|
| Keywords: |
Ramblings; Bockedy Man; autoethnographic review; disability; e reorienting; spoiled identity; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Adult and Community Education |
| Item ID: |
17699 |
| Depositing User: |
IR eTheses
|
| Date Deposited: |
17 Oct 2023 09:00 |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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