The shadow side of occupational therapy: Necropower, state racism and colonialism
Background In the Global North, advances in occupational therapy benefitted unduly from the oppression, disablement and suffering of thousands of people in the South (and beyond). To prevent the recurrence of these injustices, history must be unveiled and occupational therapists urged to come to ter...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/11038128.2023.2264330 |
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| author | Pier-Luc Turcotte Dave Holmes |
| author_facet | Pier-Luc Turcotte Dave Holmes |
| author_sort | Pier-Luc Turcotte |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background In the Global North, advances in occupational therapy benefitted unduly from the oppression, disablement and suffering of thousands of people in the South (and beyond). To prevent the recurrence of these injustices, history must be unveiled and occupational therapists urged to come to terms with their own involvement and responsibility.Objective and Method Utilising Achille Mbembe’s concept of necropolitics, this academic essay blends select historical and philosophical perspectives to explore occupational therapy’s concealed role in manifestations of institutionalised violence.Results By examining its roles in World War II and France’s colonisation of Algeria, we make visible the development of occupational therapy’s distinct ‘shadow side’. In Nazi Germany’s Euthanasia Programme, it became a tool for identifying which lives were deemed ‘worthy of living’ and which were not, which indirectly contributed to the killing of 200,000 disabled persons. Under France’s colonial medical system, occupational therapy imposed Western standards that alienated and completely depersonalised Algerian patients.Conclusion and Significance Entrenched in a (bio)economy that has endured beyond these events, occupational therapists must exercise vigilance, remaining mindful of the potential to unintentionally overlook individuals labelled as ‘unproductive’. This requires confronting the profession’s assumptions of inherent ‘goodness’ and acknowledging and addressing its shadow side. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b78a50e3e8cf4a71a55f4abcbb30465f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1103-8128 1651-2014 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy |
| spelling | doaj-art-b78a50e3e8cf4a71a55f4abcbb30465f2025-01-24T17:53:19ZengTaylor & Francis GroupScandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy1103-81281651-20142024-12-0131110.1080/11038128.2023.2264330The shadow side of occupational therapy: Necropower, state racism and colonialismPier-Luc Turcotte0Dave Holmes1Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of OttawaFaculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of OttawaBackground In the Global North, advances in occupational therapy benefitted unduly from the oppression, disablement and suffering of thousands of people in the South (and beyond). To prevent the recurrence of these injustices, history must be unveiled and occupational therapists urged to come to terms with their own involvement and responsibility.Objective and Method Utilising Achille Mbembe’s concept of necropolitics, this academic essay blends select historical and philosophical perspectives to explore occupational therapy’s concealed role in manifestations of institutionalised violence.Results By examining its roles in World War II and France’s colonisation of Algeria, we make visible the development of occupational therapy’s distinct ‘shadow side’. In Nazi Germany’s Euthanasia Programme, it became a tool for identifying which lives were deemed ‘worthy of living’ and which were not, which indirectly contributed to the killing of 200,000 disabled persons. Under France’s colonial medical system, occupational therapy imposed Western standards that alienated and completely depersonalised Algerian patients.Conclusion and Significance Entrenched in a (bio)economy that has endured beyond these events, occupational therapists must exercise vigilance, remaining mindful of the potential to unintentionally overlook individuals labelled as ‘unproductive’. This requires confronting the profession’s assumptions of inherent ‘goodness’ and acknowledging and addressing its shadow side.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/11038128.2023.2264330Ableismcaredeathdisabilitypharmakonviolence |
| spellingShingle | Pier-Luc Turcotte Dave Holmes The shadow side of occupational therapy: Necropower, state racism and colonialism Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy Ableism care death disability pharmakon violence |
| title | The shadow side of occupational therapy: Necropower, state racism and colonialism |
| title_full | The shadow side of occupational therapy: Necropower, state racism and colonialism |
| title_fullStr | The shadow side of occupational therapy: Necropower, state racism and colonialism |
| title_full_unstemmed | The shadow side of occupational therapy: Necropower, state racism and colonialism |
| title_short | The shadow side of occupational therapy: Necropower, state racism and colonialism |
| title_sort | shadow side of occupational therapy necropower state racism and colonialism |
| topic | Ableism care death disability pharmakon violence |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/11038128.2023.2264330 |
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