Dirty Work
Thinking Allowed11 Jan 2023

Dirty Work

Dirty work - Laurie Taylor explores the invisible labour we choose not to see.

The writer and sociologist, Eyal Press, considers the morally dubious, even dangerous jobs, which sustain modern society but which are concealed from view, from the prison guards who patrol the wards of America's most violent and abusive prisons to the migrants who work in industrial slaughterhouses. What are the ethical, as well as physical costs of doing this kind of labour? Why do those individuals carry the stigma and shame of doing 'dirty work', rather than the society which condones it?

Ellie Johnson, Research Fellow in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, discusses the treatment of older people in two English residential care homes, sketching out the workers' attitudes and practices concerning hygiene and bodily waste and the ways in which they do, or don't, offer dignity and respect to those receiving care. Is the mistreatment of older people simply an outcome of a deeply inequitable market for care provision or can it also tell us something about the way in which marginalised groups, such as elderly and disabled people, can be dehumanised?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(586)

Ageing and Society

Ageing and Society

What does it mean to grow older in Britain today? Laurie Taylor explores the changing realities of later life, from health and independence to inequality and support.Professor Judith Phillips OBE, Pro...

7 Jul 27min

Charity Shops and Pocket Money

Charity Shops and Pocket Money

What does it really mean to give something away - or to buy something second-hand? And what, in the process, are we choosing not to see? Laurie Taylor talks to Gaby Harris, Sociologist and Lecturer in...

30 Jun 27min

Strikes, Solidarity and South Asian Britain

Strikes, Solidarity and South Asian Britain

How have South Asian communities in Britain fought for rights, dignity and belonging - and what can that history teach us today?Laurie Taylor explores the overlooked histories of labour struggle, resi...

23 Jun 28min

Rethinking Sociology: Empire, Knowledge and Connection

Rethinking Sociology: Empire, Knowledge and Connection

What happens when we tell the story of modern Britain as part of a much bigger, global history? Professor Kate Pickett OBE has recently been appointed as the UK's first-ever Professor for the Public ...

16 Jun 28min

Football and gambling

Football and gambling

As a new World Cup approaches, what does it mean that gambling now sits so close to the heart of football - and how far has the game travelled from its local roots?Laurie Taylor explores two distinct ...

9 Jun 27min

Ethics in sociological research

Ethics in sociological research

What does it mean to undertake "ethical" research in complex and changing social settings?Marion Vannier, from the University of Manchester, uses diaries and letters written by prisoners in her resear...

2 Jun 28min

Suicide, Society and Liveability

Suicide, Society and Liveability

What does Émile Durkheim’s 1897 study of suicide tell us about the social conditions that shape whether life feels worth living and how does a current project add to our understanding?Laurie Taylor is...

26 Mai 27min

Debt and Wealth Inequality

Debt and Wealth Inequality

What does an 18-month study of residents on a housing estate in southern England tell us about living with debt? Laurie Taylor talks to Ryan Davey from Cardiff University about his new book The Person...

10 Mar 28min

Populært innen Vitenskap

fastlegen
tingenes-tilstand
abels-tarn
liberal-halvtime
romkapsel
jss
rekommandert
vett-og-vitenskap-med-gaute-einevoll
sinnsyn
dekodet-2
villmarksliv
fjellsportpodden
rss-rekommandert
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
rss-inn-til-kjernen-med-sunniva-rose
rss-nysgjerrige-norge
rss-overskuddsliv
diagnose
abid-nadia-skyld-og-skam
forskningno