Unsanctioned occupations: A figured world analysis

Background: A critical and epistemic analysis of occupation was undertaken, using the “figured world” discourse analysis approach. Figured worlds are “typical” representations of a particular construct based on... [ view full abstract ]

Background: A critical and epistemic analysis of occupation was undertaken, using the “figured world” discourse analysis approach. Figured worlds are “typical” representations of a particular construct based on taken-for-granted theories and stories developed through experience and “guided, shaped, and normed” though social interactions. Implicit and explicit values and beliefs that contribute to current understandings of occupation are examined.

Method: This research involved an interpretative literature synthesis using the figured worlds discourse analysis approach to inform concept development. The literature review included peer reviewed articles published in the Journal of Occupational Science between 2000 and 2012.

Results: Findings indicate a tendency to identify occupations as those activities that are considered to be “positive.” Occupation-related theory and research focuses on the relationship between occupation and enhanced health or well-being. There has been an implicit exclusion of activities that are considered “negative,” “unhealthy” or “deviant” from the figured world of occupation.

Conclusion: The role of occupational science in (re-)presenting occupations is a social justice issue that contributes to social constructions of sanctioned and unsanctioned ways of doing, being, becoming, and belonging. Occupational science has the potential to play a significant role in advancing critical understandings about the social construction of occupations as moral or immoral, deviant or normal, and healthy or unhealthy.

Application to Practice: It is imperative to conceptualise a broader spectrum of occupations inherent to daily life. This may minimize the potential to render particular occupations as invisible and mitigate risks of further stigmatizing, marginalizing, and oppressing individuals and collectives.