This article is about a mode of scholarly practice we call critical social science with public health. The article responds to our dissatisfaction with established approaches to social science engagement with public health that have developed out of Straus’ early distinction between sociology in and of medicine. By critical social science with public health we mean a set of research practices that orients to epistemological and political differences between social science and public health as productive opportunities. We draw on Mouffe’s notion of agonism to ground our argument conceptually and on our collaborative research with tobacco control to substantively illustrate our case. As we imagine it, critical social science with public health unsettles knowledge relations that position social science either as a conceptual resource for public health or as a source of negative critique of public health activities. Critical social science with public health engages directly with public health actors, while remaining committed to the specificity of social science theory and methodology. It aims to transform public health, often by seeking to lessen the harmful effects of public health practice, while, at the same time, contributing to critical social science scholarship.
Citation
Mykhalovskiy, Eric, et al. “Critical Social Science with Public Health: Agonism, Critique and Engagement.” Critical Public Health, vol. 29, no. 5, Oct. 2019, pp. 522–533, doi:10.1080/09581596.2018.1474174.
Themes | Global Health Foresighting |
Status | Active |
Related Work | |
Updates |
N/A
|
People |
Eric Mykhalovskiy, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Active
|
You may also be interested in...
Recap — Addressing the Structural Drivers of Tuberculosis to #EndTB
In celebration of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day 2023: Yes! We Can #End TB! Faculty fellow and founder of the Social Science and Health Innovation for Tuberculosis Centre (SSHIFTB), Amrita Daftary, facilitated a seminar discussing how ...Read more about this Post
Call for Presentations – 2023 Critical Social Science Perspectives in Global Health Workshop
The fourth Critical Social Science Perspectives in Global Health (CPGH) Research workshop returns as an in-person event on Wednesday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to noon ET at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. Continental ...Read more about this Post
Recap – Science is Necessary But Not Sufficient for Positive Public Policy Impacts
On January 25, Dr. Jean-Jacques Rousseau used his broad experiences in government in Canada and abroad to comment on instances when scientific and technical advice fails to have a positive influence on public policy: "Science ...Read more about this Post