Introducing a Critical Analysis of the Figured World of Occupation

Abstract

This critical analysis of occupational science examines the figured world of occupation. Figured worlds are ‘typical’ representations of a particular construct based on taken-for-granted theories and stories developed through experience and “guided, shaped, and normed” though social interactions (Gee, 2011, p. 76). Drawing on theoretical articles published primarily in the Journal of Occupational Science, a discussion regarding the values and assumptions underlying occupational science is presented. It is proposed that there are tendencies to identify occupations as “positive” and to focus on the relationship of occupational engagement to enhanced health and well-being. At the same time, there may be an implicit exclusion of activities that are considered ‘negative,’ ‘unhealthy’ or ‘deviant’ from the figured world of occupation, which has the potential to stigmatise and marginalise individuals or collectives. It is suggested that occupational science may have a significant role to play in developing critical understandings of the social construction of occupations as moral or immoral, deviant or normal, and healthy or unhealthy. The role of occupational science in (re-)presenting occupations is framed as a social justice issue that contributes to the social construction of ways of acting and ways of being.