Protean experience in discursive analysis

Abstract

This article reflects on what we mean by experience in discursive analysis in light of James Cresswell’s critique (Cresswell, this issue). Experience does matter, but experience does not determine or presage the narrative or accounts we will give about it. Experience is a resource that we can draw upon and make relevant for our own purposes. Experience is malleable and can be used to tell various stories, depending on the context and the interlocutors. As analysts, our job is to ascertain how social actors show that experience matters to them through their discourse and embodied action.