How are the historically fraught contexts of alterity that define postcolonial settings generated and negotiated in the context of medical uncertainty? What role does narrative play in the lived experience of such uncertainty and alterity? Focusing on a single “diagnostic odyssey” of childhood illness, this article examines the relationship between chronic uncertainty, alterity, and narrative sensemaking in the highly dynamic and pluralistic healthcare setting of Vanuatu. It demonstrates how close examination of cultural metaphors relating to sickness can reveal deep insights into the lived experience of illness, health seeking, and caregiving. In doing so, it highlights the role of narrative in rendering otherwise unfathomable circumstances sensible on cultural and existential terms, including by engendering a sense of intersubjective stability in the face of trauma.

中文翻译：

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垃圾病和跳舞恶魔

在医学不确定性的背景下，定义后殖民环境的历史上充满差异性的背景是如何产生和协商的？叙事在这种不确定性和变化性的生活体验中扮演什么角色？本文着眼于儿童疾病的单一“诊断冒险”，探讨了瓦努阿图高度动态和多元化的医疗保健环境中长期不确定性、差异性和叙事意义建构之间的关系。它展示了对与疾病相关的文化隐喻的仔细研究如何能够揭示对疾病、寻求健康和护理的生活经历的深刻见解。在此过程中，它强调了叙事在使原本难以理解的情况在文化和存在方面变得敏感方面的作用，包括在面对创伤时产生一种主体间稳定感。