Categorization and explanation of risk: a discourse analytical perspective
Title:
Categorization and explanation of risk: a discourse analytical perspective
Author:
Sarangi, Srikant Candlin, Christopher
Appeared in:
Health, risk & society
Paging:
Volume 5 (2003) nr. 2 pages 115-124
Year:
2003-07
Contents:
Categorization -- generally understood as definition of situations (including events, actions, roles/identities, knowledge claims etc) in everyday and professional/institutional settings -- is a meaning-making activity, deeply embodied in human experience and understanding. Language and discourse play a significant part in how we categorize events and things in discipline-specific ways. Contributors to this Special Issue of Health, Risk & Society approach risk categorization and its explanatory status in a range of healthcare settings -- genetics, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hormone replacement therapy -- from a discourse analytical perspective (broadly defined as language and interaction in context-specific environments). Research practice -- what we choose to study, how we select our data sites and analytic frameworks and how we formulate our findings -- constitutes categorization work par excellence and so remains a candidate project in reflexivity.