Engaging the occupational imagination: Meeting in diversity

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article provides a reflection on the 2017 Occupational Science Europe conference through a critical occupational science lens. I first provide a synopsis of lines of arguments forwarded in a keynote talk I delivered at this conference, titled ‘Embracing a critical turn in occupational science: Contributions and future possibilities’. I then draw upon one of the key directions forwarded in this talk as a means to further enact a transformative agenda through critical occupational science to reflect on how ‘meeting in diversity’ fostered critical alertness. In particular, the strategy of ‘meeting in diversity’ with occupation as a common ground fostered critical dialogue regarding the situated, political and relational nature of occupation and the root causes of occupational injustices through providing opportunities to be exposed to diverse perspectives on occupation from across Europe and beyond. Occupational scientists, in diverse contexts and in diverse ways, are engaging a critical occupational imagination as a means to make a difference in the world, and embracing diversity appears to be an especially productive way forward in enacting a transformative agenda.