Discursive Formation, Life Stories, and the Emergence of Co-Dependency: “Power/Knowledge” and the Search for Identity

Abstract

Following Foucault, this article argues that current research on life stories can be enriched by treating them as “discursive formations.” The analysis undertakes a streamlined “archaeology” and “genealogy” to examine the emergence of co-dependency as one such formation. Various co-dependency “theorists” illustrate the ways that rules for true statements in co-dependency discourse contradict those of its psychological and addictive predecessors. These rules produce a unique discursive formation and different life stories. Moreover, Foucault's approach stresses the role of “power/knowledge” in the construction of the co-dependency canon, deepening understanding of life stories as forms of both empowerment and subjection to alternative forms of authority.