The Sonic Meanings of the Life and Death of My Disabled Brother: Listening as a Method for Qualitative Research

Abstract

Long neglected listening is an underdeveloped element in western epistemology in general and in qualitative research in particular. However, recent developments in philosophy, sound art, anthropology, and qualitative research open promising pathways for mastering listening as a method and metaphor of inquiry also in health research, where understanding multiple layers of emotionally challenging experiences is crucial, yet often elusive. Through a sonic analysis of autobiographical data about life, death, and my disabled brother, I will try to demonstrate how paying attention to listening and sounds in research can add evolving layers of meaning to the data gathering and analyzing processes. Ultimately, such an analysis provides insights into a sibling’s role as a caregiver by revealing mechanisms of nonconscious emotional coping and also into the acts of a disabled sibling as a teacher of subtle ways of listening.