From Narrative to Illustration in the Intersubjective Articulation of Resistance

Abstract

In intersubjective processes of articulation with refugees, multimodal forms of expression emerge, including presentational modes such as drawing. Using a moment of articulation during the fieldwork, this paper explores a co-constructed shift between researcher and researched from narrative to illustrative symbolization. The spontaneous drawing of a scene by the researcher depicting resistance to military constraints invites reflection on the differences and potentials of symbolic modes within ethnographic encounters. The contribution advocates for a culturally and psychologically grounded expansion of qualitative research to include image-based forms of expression—not merely as objects of analysis but as methodological means of articulation within interaction research. In doing so, it argues for the conceptualization of articulation as a foundational term in cultural psychology.