Shadow categorizations

Abstract

Drawing on analyses of how, during the 20th century, explicit processes of social distinction morphed into languages of niceness and, further, into various categories of pathology (Löfgren, 1991; Conrad, 2007; Horwitz, 2002; Brinkmann, 2014), I explore some of the contemporary consequences of this transformation in a Danish context. Focusing on everyday experiences of parents of children with so-called special needs, I highlight their concerns and hopes, analysing what happens when they encounter those who work in welfare state institutions. Inspired by anthropology of policy (Wright, 2017), I view these parents’ actions, efforts, and negotiations as a form of micro-policymaking, with an analytical emphasis on what Mattingly (2013) describes as everyday ethical work. Interactions with welfare state professionals such as early childhood educators and schoolteachers are part and parcel of parenting, especially in a Nordic context. In this ethical work, the parents face different gaps they need to handle.