Inhabiting Transience: Stories of learning through chronic illness, the body, place and creativity

Abstract

The thesis is anchored in the reflection that chronic illness may be a catalyst for transformative learning and that the creative arts are valid transformative learning tools. From this initial reflection, my aim was to explore how I had engaged in learning through some of the experience of illness/wellness and how creativity had been part of my learning as a transformative experience. Stemming from these reflections, I also aimed to explore how transformative learning may be situated in bodily contexts and within contexts of place, as these had appeared to be strong influences on my own experience of learning. Themes of learning are explored through the autobiographical perspective of the researcher, as patient, musician, traveller and learner, connecting illness/wellness experience, creative expression, bodily learning, and elements of learning in relationship to landscape. These themes of learning emerged as some of the key influences within the researcher/writer's narrative during a timeframe spanning several years, and are reflected upon in various contexts throughout the writing and discussion. Although seemingly diverse areas, these key themes draw together into a whole story, interweaving separate storylines through autoethnography and arts based research.