The thesis was designed to gain insight into how Alzheimer’s disease influences selfhood from first-personal accounts of illness. The focus of the study was narrowed further by concentrating on the autobiographies of individuals diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD). The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the autobiographies of individuals with EOAD with the aim of understanding their selfhood. In this thesis I argue that, Alzheimer’s disease may influence a change in self, however, the self is not lost entirely. This thesis draws on the philosophical conception of narrated self as it allows for one perpetually constructed self, whereby a change in self does not necessarily mean the self is lost entirely. Through an interpretive analysis of six autobiographical accounts of Alzheimer’s, this thesis demonstrates that Alzheimer’s disease influences a loss of sense of self but that autobiography enables individuals with Alzheimer’s to (re)construct self.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/30173 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Stanley, Daina |
| Contributors | Vanthuyne, Karine |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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