Questioning Misfortune: The Pragmatics of Uncertainty in East Uganda

Hope and Uncertainty in Health and Medicine

“…Focusing on the final phases of IVF treatment, I have shown their pragmatic stance by which they, being specifically situated, work through what needs to be done in the various stages of IVF treatment, make the best possible use of their resources at hand, imagine future possibilities, and try out new (and old) things to achieve pregnancy. In such a pragmatics of uncertainty (Whyte 1997), hope for a partially hidden favourable situation in the past and present and for positive outcomes in the future is carefully modulated, as their story unfolds: In order to make hope "bearing" ("tragfähig", in the words of Kinsky 2023: 34), IVF as social practice is organized in ways so that IVF users (and the doctors treating them) curb their hope to prevent too much disappointment, should an IVF cycle turn out to be unsuccessful, but nourish hope to the extent that necessary IVF work can continue and suffering be endured. In such a "paradox of hope" ), hope has intentional-ity; it is hope for something, thus bringing its referents (e.g., many eggs, embryos, and ultimately successful pregnancy and a baby) into play, charging them with embodied meaning and affective purpose, while simultaneously foregrounding potential failure.…”

“…Managing uncertainty is also a theme in Susan Whyte's (1997) Questioning Misfortune, an ethnography about HIV/AIDS in Eastern Uganda. Whyte's central intuition focuses on the pragmatism of the Bunyole people in their confrontation with misfortune and uncertainty.…”

“…Staying active and busy working for recovery, as Patricia does, is an attempt to regain some control over her live and fate in a pragmatic way when facing misfortune and uncertainty. It is also a way to show value, power, personhood, and social identity (Whyte 1997). Indeed, her daily hard work is perceived as such, daily work like ordinary people, leading also "a very busy life".…”

“…anthropologists have already long ago emphasised, the pursuit of certainty, but also the value of uncertainty has been a defining feature in most medical practices, as Van der Geest demonstrates in his contribution to this volume. This is the case especially for diagnosis and subsequent treatment options (e.g., Jenkins et al 2005;Lupton 1995;Nissen and Risør 2018;Street 2014;Van Dongen 1998;Whyte 1997). In this modality, this quest and the uncertainty that arises are inherent in medical practice per se but also result from the interconnectedness of diverse heterogeneous social domains and processes.…”

“…Among the well-known ethnographies in medical anthropology that deal with such predicaments of suffering and uncertainty is Susan R. Whyte's (1997) Questioning Misfortune. Based on long-term ethnography, Whyte explores the ways how the Nyole people in eastern Uganda make sense and deal with misfortunes, such as sickness, marital problems, and death.…”