Wacquant, urban marginality, territorial stigmatization and social work

‘Introducing Michael Gove to Loïc Wacquant’: Why Social Work Needs Critical Sociology

In 2013, Michael Gove, then Secretary of State for Education and Health in the UK coalition government, criticised social workers for laying insufficient emphasis on the 'agency' of individuals and for being too preoccupied with social and economic inequalities. Such a perspective, which is not unique to Gove, needs to be countered by reaffirming the significance of an expansively critical soci...

The Sound of Stigmatization: Sonic Habitus, Sonic Styles, and Boundary Work in an Urban Slum.

Based on focus groups and interviews with student renters in an Israeli slum, the article explores the contributions of differences in sonic styles and sensibilities to boundary work, social categorization, and evaluation. Alongside visual cues such as broken windows, bad neighborhoods are characterized by sonic cues, such as shouts from windows. Students understand "being ghetto" as being loud...

Recent developments in urban marginality along Mexico’s northern border

This paper analyzes recent developments in urban marginality along Mexico’s northern border. The northern border in the last two decades has undergone a significant economic transformation as well as an explosive population growth. The paper emphasizes that in spite of impressive economic indicators border cities in Mexico urban marginality continue; that is, economic gains have not trickled do...

(Review) Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality

Resistance and vulnerability to stigmatization in abortion work.

The stigma surrounding abortion in the United States commonly permeates the experience of both those seeking this health service as well as those engaged in its provision. Annually there are approximately 1.2 million abortions performed in the United States; despite that existing research shows that abortion services are highly utilized, women rarely disclose their use of these services. In 200...