The Importance of “Empty Gestures” in Recovery: Being Human Together

What do clients/patients want or value from their encounters with healthcare providers? Based on ethnographic research conducted with individuals suffering from drug addiction and mental health issues, this article argues that clients/patients treasure “everyday” or “human” interaction with medical staff. Everydayness is accomplished through three generic social processes: **co‐silence, inclusion in back‐stage activity, and physical dramatizations of authenticity. These processes and other ordinary interactional strategies for “being human together” should be seen as vital tools for recovery.     

日常生活平庸性的回应——"新世纪文学"的一个侧面

当前的“新世纪文学”从两个方面对中国“新文学”实现了超越,一是对文学直接投射“现实”的可能性的反思,并导致了对于文学复杂性的再认识；一是关注现实生活的具体性,致使一种日常生活的特色开始呈现出来。这两种文学走向都是对当下历史境遇的投射和反映。但这种反映也凸现了一种持续的困扰和焦虑,即如何面时日常生活本身的平庸性问题。这种时日常生活平庸性的感受,正是当前境遇下文学的典型表征。在“底层”文学、“打工”文学及“新少年写作”等文学现象中,显示了这种日常生活的平庸性所带来的新困扰,而对这种平庸性的焦虑与不安仍然是新语境下文学写作的基本主题之一。