Abstract
Critical-interpretive health communication (CIHC) scholars take seriously the imperative to “take an ethical position” on communicative phenomenon, specifically identifying both issues of power as well as opportunities to catalyze social change (Zoller & Kline, 2008, p. 93) Yet, researchers are also likely to encounter competing impulses to understand or even appreciate others’ lived experiences in line with interpretive health communication (IHC) practices. My perspective essay traces the blurry edges between CIHC and IHC, and offers guidance to researchers who traverse these borders. Specifically, I articulate the key points of convergence and divergence between CIHC and IHC perspectives, and consider the questions and implications accompanying these approaches.
Highlights
A raucous group of second-graders pointed and laughed as I made my way to the sidelines
I felt torn between my critical-interpretive health communication (CIHC) sensibilities and my newfound appreciation of the committee’s improvisational organizing as I processed the event
CIHC has usefully informed my interrogations of the ideologies underpinning school-based health initiatives (e.g., Gerbensky-Kerber, 2011; Gerbensky-Kerber and Bates, 2015)
Summary
Kent State University at Stark, United States Heather J. Specialty section: This article was submitted to Health Communication, a section of the journal Frontiers in Communication. Critical-interpretive health communication (CIHC) scholars take seriously the imperative to “take an ethical position” on communicative phenomenon, identifying both issues of power as well as opportunities to catalyze social change (Zoller and Kline, 2008, p.93). Researchers are likely to encounter competing impulses to understand or even appreciate others’ lived experiences in line with interpretive health communication (IHC) practices. My perspective essay traces the blurry edges between CIHC and IHC, and offers guidance to researchers who traverse these borders. I articulate the key points of convergence and divergence between CIHC and IHC perspectives, and consider the questions and implications accompanying these approaches
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