Self, the social body and well-being: Embodiment and adaptation in cross-cultural perspective

This interdisciplinary programme will contribute to understanding how ideas of the self, social relationships and their meanings are revised and restructured as a result of embodied change. Ethnographic research will be conducted with Australian mean and women who have had serious chronic illness and surgery, including stroke and kidney disease. Comparative research will be conducted in Thailand, the Cameroon and Haiti through collaborations developed during the Fellowship. The work will contribute to international debates about wellbeing, social capital and resilience in different cultural, social and economic settings. Policy implications relate to community connectedness, health and welfare services, and infrastructure.