Abstract
ABSTRACTCalls to ‘transcend the individual’ in occupational science have emerged in recognition of the boundaries of individualistic perspectives and the drive to develop a socially responsive science. In this article, we contend that transcending the individual does not equate to neglecting how individuals make sense of and experience occupation; rather, it requires looking at individual constructions of experiences and occupations in critically informed ways that highlight the socio-political influences on those constructions. This discussion article considers how critical narrative inquiry can be taken up as a methodological approach to interpretively link individual ‘stories’ with social ‘stories’ or discourses, enabling further understanding of occupation as a situated and transactional phenomenon. Drawing on data from a study that is attending to transactions of policy, service, and individual perspectives of long-term unemployment, we illustrate how a critical approach to narrative interpretation highlights boundaries, resistance, contradictions, and tensions that provide insights into the situated nature of occupation.
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