Occupational science’s stalled revolution and a manifesto for reconstruction

ABSTRACT

This publication develops a keynote presented at the 27^th USC Chan Occupational Science Symposium, “Occupations disrupted: Pandemics and the reshaping of everyday life,” on November 5, 2021. I used the social theory of occupational reconstructions—shared problem-solving through narrative alignments and collective action—to reflect on occupational science’s progress since its founding 30 years ago. I argue that (1) the science of occupation has stalled in today’s neoliberal university; and that (2) ‘consequential questions’ must be formulated across the discipline to develop useful knowledge from different locations, positionalities, and contexts. A ‘consequential question,’ I propose, produces knowledge useful to solving problems of wide concern to the discipline, other disciplines, and the public; and sets up a scientific research program that progresses empirically and theoretically. I explain why the founders’ pragmatist framing of occupation as mind-body experience remains important to recent critiques of the discipline and its future advancement. Likewise, I explain how pragmatism can and must transact with various critical (Marxist, poststructuralist) philosophies and other (positivist, alternative) epistemologies regarding societal problems such as occupational justice, human rights, decolonization, political polarization, and the erosion of democracy. I suggest that federally funded biomedical research in the neoliberal university is not currently designed to advance a science of occupation, although it could if occupational scientists were to face the discipline’s contradictions under neoliberalism and reconstruct its common purpose.

本刊物撰写了 2021 年 11 月 5 日在第 27 届南加州大学陈生活活动科学研讨会上发表的主题演讲，即“生活活动被打乱：流行病和日常生活的重塑”。我使用了生活活动重建的社会理论——通过叙述对齐和集体行动来共同解决问题——反思生活活动科学自 30 年前创建以来的发展。我认为（1）生活活动科学在当今的新自由主义大学里停滞不前；（2）必须在整个学科中制定“后果性问题”，以便从不同的地点、定位和背景中开发有用的知识。我建议，一个“后果性问题”产生的知识有助于解决该学科、其他学科和公众广泛关注的问题；并制定一个在经验和理论上取得进展的科学研究计划。我解释了为什么创始人将生活活动视为身、心体验的实用主义框架，对于最近对该学科的批评及其未来发展仍然很重要。同样，我解释了实用主义如何能够而且必须与各种批判性（马克思主义、后结构主义）哲学和其他（实证主义、替代性）认识论结合来处理有关诸如生活活动正义、人权、去殖民化、政治两极分化和民主侵蚀等社会问题。我认为，联邦政府资助的新自由主义大学生物医学研究目前并非以发展生活活动科学为目的，但是，如果生活活动科学家要面对新自由主义下的学科矛盾并重建其共同目的，它还是可以做到这点的。

RÉSUMÉ

Cette publication développe mes propos lors de la conférence que j'ai prononcée le 5 novembre 2021 lors du 27^th USC Chan Occupational Science Symposium, "Occupations disrupted : Pandemics and the reshaping of everyday life" (« Des occupations bouleversées : les pandémies et le remodelage de la vie quotidienne »). J'ai utilisé la théorie sociale des reconstructions occupationnelles – la résolution partagée de problèmes par le biais des récits et d'actions collectives – pour réfléchir aux progrès de la science de l'occupation depuis sa fondation, il y a 30 ans. Je soutiens que (1) la science de l'occupation est au point mort dans l'université néolibérale d'aujourd'hui ; et que (2) des « questions conséquentes » doivent être formulées à travers la discipline pour développer des connaissances utiles à partir de différents lieux, positionnements et contextes. Je définis une « question conséquente » comme une question qui produit des connaissances utiles pour résoudre des problèmes qui préoccupent largement la discipline, d'autres disciplines et le public, et comme une question qui met en place un programme de recherche scientifique qui progresse empiriquement et théoriquement. J'explique pourquoi le cadrage pragmatiste de l'occupation en tant qu'expérience corps-esprit, tel qu’énoncé par les fondatrices de l'ergothérapie, reste important tant pour l'auto-examen critique de la discipline que pour ses progrès futurs. De même, j'explique comment le pragmatisme peut et doit transiger avec les philosophies critiques (marxistes tardifs, poststructuralistes) et d'autres épistémologies (positivistes, alternatives) concernant les problèmes sociétaux tels que la justice occupationnelle, les droits de l'humain, la décolonisation, la polarisation politique et l'érosion de la démocratie. Je suggère que la recherche biomédicale financée par le gouvernement fédéral dans l'université néolibérale n'est pas actuellement conçue pour faire progresser une science de l'occupation, bien qu'elle puisse le faire si les chercheuses et chercheurs en science de l'occupation font face aux contradictions de la discipline dans le cadre du néolibéralisme et reconstruisent son objectif commun.

Esta publicación profundiza en la ponencia magistral “Ocupaciones alteradas: pandemias y la reestructuración de la vida cotidiana”, presentada el 5 de noviembre de 2021 en el 27° Simposio de Ciencia Ocupacional Chan de la Universidad del Sur de California (USC). Con el propósito de reflexionar sobre el avance de la ciencia ocupacional desde su fundación hace 30 años, utilicé la teoría social de las reconstrucciones ocupacionales, esto es, la resolución de problemas compartidos mediante alineaciones narrativas y acciones colectivas. Argumento que (1) en la universidad neoliberal actual la ciencia ocupacional se ha estancado; y que (2) en toda la disciplina deben formularse “preguntas consecuentes” para desarrollar un conocimiento útil desde diferentes lugares, posicionalidades y contextos. La “pregunta consecuente”, propongo, produce conocimiento útil para resolver problemas que preocupan ampliamente a la disciplina, a otras disciplinas y al público; a la vez, establece un programa de investigación científica que progresa empírica y teóricamente. Explico por qué el encuadre pragmatista de los fundadores de la ocupación, como experiencia mente-cuerpo, sigue siendo importante para las críticas recientes de la disciplina y su avance futuro. Asimismo, señalo cómo el pragmatismo puede y debe negociar con diversas filosofías críticas (marxistas, postestructuralistas) y otras epistemologías (positivistas, alternativas) respecto a problemas sociales como la justicia ocupacional, los derechos humanos, la descolonización, la polarización política y la erosión de la democracia. Sugiero que, actualmente, la investigación biomédica financiada por el gobierno federal en la universidad neoliberal no está diseñada para hacer avanzar la ciencia ocupacional, aunque podría hacerlo si los científicos ocupacionales abordaran las contradicciones surgidas en la disciplina bajo el neoliberalismo y reconstruyeran su propósito común.

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational science
• Pragmatism
• Critical social theory
• Racial justice

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Science de l'occupation
• pragmatisme
• théorie sociale critique
• justice raciale

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the collective rights of indigenous peoples to land, territories, and resources embedded in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other international human rights instruments. This includes the ancestral rights of the Gabrielino/Tongva tribes of the Los Angeles Basin to the unceded lands where the University of Southern California’s campuses are located.

I give warmest thanks and deepest appreciation to the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy—especially to chairpersons Elizabeth J. Yerxa, Florence A. Clark, and Grace T. Baranek—for the opportunity as an anthropologist to learn from and contribute to the discipline and profession during my 39 years on the faculty. I heartily thank the 27^th USC Chan Occupational Science Symposium team of Rebecca Aldrich, Jeanine Blanchard, and Esther Jahng for their planning and support. My appreciation goes to Mapheyeledi Motimele (University of Cape Town) and Vagner dos Santos (University of Brasilia and Charles Sturt University) for their generous participation and thought-provoking comments. Videos of Symposium presentations for public viewing including this keynote can be found at https://chan.usc.edu/events/symposium/2021. I thank these colleagues also for their helpful reading and discussion of the manuscript at different stages: Michal Atkins, Erna Blanche, Elizabeth Francis-Connolly, Nancie Furgang, Mary Lawlor, Nancy Lutkehaus, Nick Pollard, Debbie Laliberte-Rudman, Dikaios Sakellariou, and Ruth Zemke.

All websites cited in this paper were accessible as of May 30, 2022.

Disclosure Statement

The author reports there are no competing interests to declare.

Notes

1 A social theory in occupational science, in my view, should meet the following criteria. First, the theory should be well enough developed to support a program of empirical research and practice within occupational science. Second, its propositions, findings, development, and praxis should be intelligible to and useful to other disciplines and fields concerned with shared societal problems. As I will argue, theorizing in occupational science to this point does not appear to have progressed beyond proposing new concepts for descriptive elaboration. Psychologists Kerlinger and Lee (2000) define a theory as “a set of interrelated constructs (concepts), definitions, and propositions that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables [elsewhere the authors substitute the term ‘constructs’], with the purpose of explaining and predicting the phenomena.” Kerlinger, F. N. & Lee, H. B. (2000). Foundations of behavioral research. 4th Ed. Cengage Learning, p. 11. Although it may appear from my citing Kerlinger and Lee that I will be endorsing a post-positivist view of science and evidence, readers will find a more nuanced call for diverse strategies within theoretically-driven research programs.

2 USC Associate Dean and Chan Division Chair Grace Baranek (personal communication, 7/21/22) reminds me that the intent of the Symposium was to address the intersections of the “racial, social, economic and public health” pandemics plaguing our times. She explains: “COVID was front and center across the globe but that was only a piece of the complexities that the symposium was attempting to address. Racial/social inequalities were at the forefront of the planning. . . .The idea was to provoke people to think more deeply and to begin a dialogue on where the discipline needs to go.”

3 Lavalley, R., & Johnson, K. R. (2020). Occupation, injustice, and anti-Black racism in the United States of America. Journal of Occupational Science. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2020.1810111

4 The black community began the largest movement in American history on social media under the hashtag Black Lives Matter in 2013, responding to the acquittal of the vigilante murderer of black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida the previous year. Buchanan, L., Bui, Q., & Patel, J. K. (2020). Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History, The New York Times, July 3. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html. Also see the Say Their Names Memorial, which I view as an occupational reconstruction that builds the movement by providing an opportunity to do something—in this case, submit names and photos to a databank of black community members lost to systemic racism and racialized violence. Here the personal motivation to memorialize individual losses blends seamlessly with the strengthening of collective narratives, collective memory, shared identities, and solidarity. Go to: https://www.saytheirnamesmemorials.com/names

5 See Frank, G., & Polkinghorne, D. (2010). Qualitative research in occupational therapy: From the first to the second generation. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 30(2), 51–57. https://doi.org/10.3928/15394492-20100325-02

6 In 1939, for example, Einstein’s theory of general relativity mathematically predicted the existence of black holes, areas of the cosmos of such gravity and density that no light can escape them. Only in May 2022 were astronomers able to capture an x-ray image of a black hole, Sagittarius A, at the center of our own galaxy’s Milky Way. I use this as an example of progressive theorization using a negative heuristic leading to empirical verification. A further discussion of the analogy’s relevance for occupational science as a human science is important but beyond the scope of this talk. Castelvecchi, D. (2020). Black hole at the center of our galaxy imaged for the first time. Nature, May 20. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01320-y

7 In occupational science, see Clark, F., & Jackson, J. (1990) The Application of the Occupational Science Negative Heuristic in the Treatment of Persons with Human Immunodeficiency Infection, Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 6:4, 69-91, https://doi.org/10.1080/J003v06n04_08

8 Musgrave, A., & Pigden, C. (2021). Imre Lakatos. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer ed.). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/lakatos/

9 I thank friends and colleagues for their intellectual leadership in publications on these topics including Elizabeth Townsend, Debbie Laliberte Rudman, Karen Hammell, Frank Kronenberg, Elelwani Ramugondo, Nick Pollard, Dikaios Sakellariou, Salvador Simó Algado, Clare Hocking, Gail Whiteford, Virginia Dickie, Malcolm Cutchin, Staffan Josephsson, Cheryl Mattingly, Mary Lawlor, Pamela Block, Mathew Molineux, Sarah Kantartzis, and Jeanne Jackson, among others deserving mention.

10 USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. (2019). 30 Years of USC Occupational Science. https://www.youtube.com/user/USCOSOT, September 19. The blurb on YouTube reads: “In the 1980s, scholars at the University of Southern California's Department of Occupational Therapy did something so audacious, creative and bold that, even in 2019, almost defies belief. They created an entirely new academic discipline known as occupational science to formally study ‘occupations’—the productive, social, and physical activities that people do in the course of their everyday lives—and the impact of occupations on health, development and quality of life.” It notes that the PhD program founded in 1989 was the first in the world and has trained more than 80 graduates, many holding faculty appointments at universities in at least nine countries, with 20 graduate programs now existing globally. It notes further, “While grant funding is not a full measure of scientific importance and impact, USC Chan faculty members today hold more than $18 million in active, federal research funding.” YouTube reports 6,446 views as of this access. In the same self-congratulatory vein, see Aldrich, R. M. (2021). Special Issue: 30 Years of Occupational Science. Journal of Occupational Science, 28(2),187-192, https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2021.1899757. I urge readers to distinguish between uncritical inventories of the discipline's growth and discriminating analyses of disciplinary and scientific progress. For an example of the latter, see discussion in Endnote 5, below, regarding Aldrich, R. M., Gupta, J., & Laliberte Rudman, D. (2018). Academic innovation in service of what? The scope of North American occupational science doctoral graduates' contributions from 1994–2015.

11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwSRqaZGsPw, Accessed May 1, 2022.

12 The term ‘racial capitalism’ was first used by anti-apartheid activists to refer to South Africa’s economy under apartheid. Political scientist Cedric Robinson developed the concept into a general social science theory in 1983 in his recently reissued book Black Marxism: The making of the black radical tradition. University of North Carolina Press, 2020. Historian Robin D. G. Kelley writes that Robinson “took Karl Marx to task for failing to comprehend radical movements outside of Europe” and that he “characterized black rebellions as expressions of what he called ‘the Black Radical Tradition,’ movements whose objectives and aspirations confounded Western social analysis.“ I am inspired by Kelley’s encomium that “Robinson was a challenging thinker who understood that the deepest, most profound truths tend to bewilder, breaking with inherited paradigms and ‘common sense.’” See Robin D. G. Kelley, What Did Cedric Robinson Mean by Racial Capitalism? Boston Review. January 12, 2017. https://bostonreview.net/articles/robin-d-g-kelley-introduction-race-capitalism-justice/

13 Video excerpt of 1989 interview with Gil Scott–Heron at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsJ4WlQJePU

14 Dickie, V., Cutchin, M. P., & Humphry, R. (2006). Occupation as transactional experience: A critique of individualism in occupational science. Journal of Occupational Science, 13, 83–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2006.9686573

15 See Mattingly, C. M. (1988). Healing dramas and clinical plots: The narrative structure of experience. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139167017 Through ethnographic research into the practice of occupational therapists, Cheryl Mattingly theorizes the narrative structure of social action (occupation) as the forward movement of purposeful, desiring subjects into imagined futures. Mattingly’s use of theoretical sources including phenomenology (Paul Ricoeur), narrative theories (Alistair MacIntyre, Kenneth Burke), and American pragmatism (John Dewey) exemplifies how firm grounding in social theories enables new theories to emerge that have interdisciplinary uptake and utility. My theory of occupational reconstructions builds theoretically on Mattingly’s conceptualization of narrative action (“prospective story-making”) but as applied to collective narratives and collective action.

16 Kielhofner, G., & Burke, J. (1977). Occupational therapy after 60 years: An account of changing identity and knowledge. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 31(10), 675–689. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.31.10.675 ; Shannon, P. D. (1977). The derailment of occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 31(4), 229–234. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hq7r6pdi9OnSxxiSWnX1kytbz08J2Rng/view These authors had all been graduate students of Mary Reilly, whose contributions to occupational science are discussed later.

17 At New York University, occupational therapy scholar Anne Cronin Mosey, who had earned her PhD in medical sociology, addressed the profession’s fragmentation by conceptualizing a schema that she called ‘a cohesive configuration.’ In 1973, at NYU, this became the core of the first-ever PhD program in occupational therapy, which Mosey founded and chaired.

18 See the exchanges between Anne Cronin Mosey and the USC faculty chaired by Florence A. Clark. Mosey, A. C. (1992). Partition of occupational science and occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 46(9), 851–853. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.46.9.851; Clark, F., Zemke, R., Frank, G., Parham, D., Neville-Jan, A., Hedricks, C., Carlson, M., Fazio, L., & Abreu, B. (1993). Dangers inherent in the partition of occupational therapy and occupational science. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47(2),184–186. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.47.2.184; Mosey, A. C. (1993). Partition of occupational science and occupational therapy: Sorting out some issues. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47(8),751–754. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.47.8.751

19 Note the 2022 Annual Conference of the Society for the Study of Occupation (SSO:USA), San Diego, CA, October 20-22, “Occupational science and occupational therapy: Tension and fit”. https://ssou.memberclicks.net/2022-conference

20 Gordon, D. R. (1988). Tenacious assumptions in Western medicine. In M. Lock. & D. R. Gordon (Eds.), Biomedicine examined (pp. 19–56). Kluwer Academics. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2725-4

21 Pragmatists have focused both on the social sedimentation of routines and habits and on sometimes transformational quality of experience during engaged occupation. This talk dwells on transformational experience, which John Dewey described in an early chapter, The Psychology of Occupations, as a state of mind-body holism and an end in itself: “The fundamental point in the psychology of an occupation is that it maintains a balance between the intellectual and the practical phases of experience. As an occupation it is active or motor; it finds expression through the physical organs—the eyes, hands, etc. But it also involves continual observation of materials, and continual planning and reflection, in order that the practice or executive side may be successfully carried on. Occupation as thus conceived must, therefore, be carefully distinguished from work which educates primarily for a trade. It differs because its end is in itself; in the growth that comes from the continual interplay of ideas and their embodiment in action, not in external utility” (p. 131). Dewey, J. (1915). The psychology of occupations. In The school and society (rev. ed., pp. 131–137). University of Chicago Press.

22 The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). (2012). About occupational therapy. https://wfot.org/about/about-occupational-therapy

23 See Pierce, D. (2001). Untangling occupation and activity. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55(2), 138–146. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.55.2.138 Pierce wrote: “Activity and occupation are two core concepts of occupational therapy that are in need of differentiation. Occupation is defined here as a person's personally constructed, one-time experience within a unique context. Activity is defined as a more general, culturally shared idea about a category of action” (p. 138). The difference between the two, Pierce went on to say, is the element of subjectivity in the concept of occupation, which is missing from that of activity.

24 The term occupational consciousness presents an important critical exposition of such ideas, as applied to social transformation. The emphasis on people’s ability to reflect on and engage in efforts to change their conditions is, in my opinion, where the discipline’s untapped potential lies to make a distinctive contribution. See Ramugondo, E. L. (2015). Occupational consciousness. Journal of Occupational Science, 22(4), 488–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2015.1042516 She wrote: “Occupational consciousness provides a language through which people can describe how their individual and collective everyday doing can resist and challenge hegemonic practices that sustain all forms of unequal power relations. In providing a theoretical foundation to occupational consciousness as a construct in occupational science, this discussion advances the theorizing practice of the discipline in promoting understandings of human occupation” (p. 448). Occupational consciousness is then advanced as “a critical notion that frames everyday doing as a potentially liberating response to oppressive social structures” (p. 449).

25 Legg, C., & Hookway, C. (2021). Pragmatism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/pragmatism/>

26 The mind-bending illusion in “Drawing Hands” (1948) is typical of Escher’s visual portrayal of mathematical themes. https://mcescher.com/product/poster-large-drawing-hands-bl-w/

27 Musgrave, A., & Pigden, C. (2021). See Endnote 6, above.

28 The concept of medicine’s ‘cultural authority’ was introduced by sociologist Paul Starr in his 1982 prize-winning book, The social transformation of American medicine: The rise of a sovereign profession. Basic Books. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221465211010468

29 See Meyer, A. (1976). The philosophy of occupation therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 31(10), 639–642. (Original work published 1922) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1loQwBQgO6MGtMvnt-DjrqypOTq0PK_bx/view Meyer, A. (1937/1985). Address in honor of Eleanor Clarke Slagle. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 5, 109–113. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JkVDk0XENrm-f_76ZNE6FVai3pkBdeVi/view; Slagle, E. (1922). Training aides for mental patients. Archives of Occupational Therapy, 1, 11–18, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WdWfv-2M_zi01Kpdkd5JTSlKtoIe49GM/view; Slagle, E. C. (1914). History of the development of occupation for the insane. Maryland Psychiatric Quarterly, 4, 14–20; See also: Christiansen, C. (2007). Adolf Meyer revisited: Connections between lifestyles, resilience and illness. Journal of Occupational Science, 14(2), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2007.9686586; Reed, K. L. (2019). The beliefs of Eleanor Clarke Slagle: Are they current or history? Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 33(3), 265–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380577.2019.1619215

30 Breines, E. (1986). Origins and adaptations: A philosophy of practice. Geri-Rehab. Breines suggests somewhere in her publications that Reilly did not wish to cite Dewey because he was viewed suspiciously by Cold War conservatives during the McCarthy Era as ‘pink’ (socialist). See: Livingston, A., & Quish, E. (2019). John Dewey’s experiments in Democratic Socialism. Jacobin, January 8. https://jacobin.com/2018/01/john-dewey-democratic-socialism-liberalism They wrote: “Dewey’s experimentalism, or ‘pragmatism’ as he often called it, has long been viewed with suspicion by many leftists, who see its aversion to far-reaching theories as a precursor to Cold War liberalism’s proclamations of ‘the end of ideology.’ Yet revisiting Dewey’s decades-long attempt to renovate liberalism from within reveals a more complicated story. In radicalizing liberalism, Dewey ended up formulating a democratic socialism that strove to expand workers’ control over the social forces that shaped their lives. And that, he had no trouble admitting, required confronting capitalism.” Current political leaders in the United States in the democratic socialist camp include Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Further on the Left, some would distinguish democratic socialism from social democracy. See Merelli, A. (2020). Bernie Sanders isn’t a Democratic Socialist. He is a Social Democrat, Quartz, February 23. https://qz.com/1805692/bernie-sanders-isnt-a-democratic-socialist-he-is-a-social-democrat/ Merelli wrote: “The key difference between democratic socialism and social democracy is precisely that the former advocates for social ownership of the means of production and does not believe in reforms within capitalism (although it does support temporary social democratic actions), but in a revolution of the system.”

31 Reilly, M. (1962). Occupational therapy can be one of the great ideas of 20^th century medicine. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 16(1), 87-105. For background on William James’s arguments about the use of human will, see Goodman, R. (2022). “William James”, E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Spring 2022 ed.). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/james With respect to Reilly’s close but uncredited use of Dewey’s ideas about occupation, see Endnote 18. Regarding mid-20^th century suppression of radical thought, anthropologists masked the contribution of Marx and Engels to theories of cultural evolution during this period when other members of the profession were hounded and lost their university positions for their Left politics. See Price, D. H. (2004). Threatening anthropology: McCarthyism and the FBI’s surveillance of activist anthropologists. Duke University Press. Finally, Clare Hocking (personal communication) hears echoed in Reilly’s assertion "Man, through use of hands," this quote by William Morris in his essay Useful Work Versus Useless Toil: “ … a man at work, making something which he feels will exist because he is working at it and wills it, is exercising the energies of his mind and soul as well as his body. Memory and imagination help him as he works. Not only his own thoughts, but the thoughts of the men of past ages guide his hands; and, as a part of the human race, he creates” (1886, p. 21, The Socialist League). https://books.google.com/books/about/Useful_Work_Versus_Useless_Toil.html?id=N1OXvwEACAAJ Morris, a British designer, social activist, and Marxist was a leading figure in the Arts-and-Crafts Movement, one of the well-recognized roots of the occupational therapy profession. See, for example, Levine, R. E. (1987). The influence of the Arts-and-Crafts Movement on the professional status of occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 40 (41), 248-254. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.41.4.248 and Lears, T. J. (1994). No place of grace: Antimodernism and the transformation of American culture, 1880-1920. University of Chicago Press.

32 Yerxa is not alone to ascribe optimism to the profession’s philosophy. See, for example, the introduction by Deborah R. Labovitz, former longtime professor and chairperson of NYU’s Department of Occupational Therapy, to a book of stories of recovery through occupational therapy treatment. She began: “This is a book about optimism and hope. The stories in it are about people who have courageously overcome adversity and whose lives have been improved through resourcefulness and creativity. In many ways, this reflects my own personality and the philosophy of my profession of occupational therapy” (p. xiii). She went on to discuss problem-solving. Labovitz, D. R. (Ed.). (2003). Ordinary miracles: True stories about overcoming obstacles & surviving catastrophes. Slack.

33 Yerxa, E. J. (1967). 1966 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture: Authentic occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 21(1),1–9. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.21.1.1 Here is my understanding: The objective of occupational therapy is to draw out the patient’s intrinsic motivation and baseline capacities while working with them to improve their function, social participation, use of time, and enjoyment of life. Using knowledge about typical human development, functional anatomy and physiology, medical conditions, and a background of clinical experience, the occupational therapist develops a treatment plan. Each plan is tailored to the patient’s unique configuration of interests, skills, experiences, strengths, aspirations, culture, social roles and relationships, living environments, and other conditions of everyday living. A clinically observed case described in Yerxa’s Slagle Lecture—a woman unable to voluntarily move her hand, who when asked to do so by the occupational therapist, spontaneously grasps a glass of water that is offered to her—points to Yerxa’s pragmatist perspective about mind and body, including the importance of viewing occupation in meaningful contexts and an open and encouraging (“optimistic”) view of patients’ capacities.

34 Gray, J. M. (1998). Putting occupation into practice: Occupation as ends, occupation as means. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52(5), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.52.5.354 Also see the illuminating study of Dewey’s ends-and-means thinking, specifically, the idea of “ends-in-view” (i.e., purposeful action), in Jane Addams’s progressive era social work, in Schneiderhan, E. (2011). Pragmatism and empirical sociology: The case of Jane Addams and Hull-House, 1889–1895. Theory and Society, 40(6), 589–617. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-011-9156-2

35 Reilly, M. (Ed.). (1974). Play as exploratory learning. Sage.

36 Twinley, R. (Ed.). (2021). Illuminating the dark side of occupation: International perspectives from occupational therapy and occupational science. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429266256 The book challenges “traditional assumptions around the positive, beneficial, health-promoting relationship between occupation and health” (publisher’s blurb). The way I see it, the ‘the dark side’ critique rests on recognizing that occupations are indeed comprised of experience and agency in diverse social contexts. So, the pragmatist view of occupation remains foundational within this critique. Occupations themselves are neither good nor bad. As the authors suggest, the ‘dark side’ is a product of legal-biomedical-cultural regimes in which the occupational therapy profession has had to operate as a regulated practice. This discussion relates to previous important critical arguments about occupations as socially organized categories of occupation that entail cultural constructions of identity, affect, behavior, rights (or lack of rights), and power. See, for example, Angell, A. (2012). Occupation-centered analysis of social difference: Contributions to a socially responsive occupational science. Journal of Occupational Science, 21(2), 104–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2012.711230 Regrettably, again, it is not possible to work out here all the implications for a science of occupation, except to express my optimism that we can do a much better job of understanding, teaching, and using what pragmatism, critical theory, constructivist/narrative/interpretative approaches, and post-positivism have to offer the discipline and society.

37 Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199283262.001.0001 Neoliberalism was adopted in tandem in the right-wing administrations of President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990) to repudiate social welfare state policies. Despite its name, neoliberalism is a politically conservative approach to economics. It incorporates the laissez-faire views of the 18^th and 19^th century English philosophers Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill and 20^th century Austrian economists Ludwig von Mises and Frederick Hayek. Building on these predecessors, University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman was the primary architect of neoliberalism during the Reagan-Thatcher era.

38 Richards, D. G. (1997). The Political Economy of the Chilean Miracle [Review article]. Latin American Research Review 32(1):139-159. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2504050

39 An alternative to neoliberal thinking can be found in Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach. Sen confronts economists’ use of conventional indicators of growth and wealth such as Gross National Product (GNP) that mask the problem of unequal distribution. Nevertheless, the United Nations, despite the inequality-sensitive indices it has adopted, namely the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Social Determinants of Health (SDH), now falls in line with neoliberal banking and development policies. See, for example, the internal critique by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights issues in an October 19, 2018 press release: “The world has been fundamentally reordered by widespread neoliberal economics that has privatized basic public goods — social protections, education, pensions and criminal justice among them — with often disastrous impacts on the human rights of the extremely poor, experts told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, said proponents of privatization—the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and parts of the United Nations—claim the private sector is more efficient, innovative and cost effective. Yet, their projects are often costlier and provide inferior service at considerable profit, all while ignoring human rights standards and shelving compassion. There is a ‘striking disconnect’ of the idealized narrative around privatization and the findings of many studies.” United Nations. (2018). World altered by ‘neoliberal’ outsourcing of public services to private sector, Third Committee Experts stress, amid calls for better rights protection. General Assembly, Third Committee, 73^rd Session, 25^th & 26^th Meeting. https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/gashc4239.doc.htm

40 Sakellariou, D., & Rotarou, E. S. (2017). The effects of neoliberal policies on access to healthcare for people with disabilities. International Journal of Equity in Health, 16, 199. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-017-0699-3

41 University of Southern California. (2020). Financial Report, 2019. “The overall positive performance is a result” (p. 7), states the report, of “continued clinical growth and disciplined cost-management efforts [emphasis added]” (p. 8). https://customsitesmedia.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2020/07/15205539/USC-2019-Annual-ReportFINAL.pdf

42 University of Southern California. (2020). Financial Report, 2019. p. 10.

43 University of Southern California. (2020). Financial Report, 2019. p. 8. Note that USC included future funding commitments received in 2019 in its total revenues for that year. See also the extensive data tables and rankings by institution: National Science Foundation. (2020). Federal Higher Education Research and Development: Fiscal Year 2019. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf21314#general-notes

44 Nietzel, M. T. (2021). The 19 US Universities spending $1 billion or more on R and D. Forbes, February 8. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2021/02/08/the-19-us-universities-spending-one-billion-or-more-on-r-and-d/?sh=136fcf73183a Nietzel, a former university president, wrote: “US universities expended $83.7 billion for research and development (R&D) activities in FY 2019, according to the latest National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) rankings. That’s an increase of about $4.5 billion, or 5.7% over the prior year. The bulk of the R&D funds—$44.5 billion—came from federal agencies (53%), twice as much as from the next greatest source, which was $21.2 billion in funds from the institutions themselves (25%).”

45 Giroux, H. A. (2002). Neoliberalism, corporate culture, and the promise of higher education: The university as a democratic public sphere. Harvard Educational Review, 72(4), 425–463. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.72.4.0515nr62324n71p1 See also, Giroux, H. A. (2014). Neoliberalism’s war on higher education. Haymarket Books.

46 Mintz, B. (2021). Neoliberalism and the crisis in higher education: The cost of ideology. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 80, 79–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12370

47 Giroux, H. A. (2020). See Endnote 41.

48 Burrows, R. (2012). Living with the h-index? Metric assemblages in the contemporary academy. The Sociological Review, 60(2), 355–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2012.02077.x

49 Brenneis, D., Shore, C., & Wright, S. (2005). Getting the measure of academia: Universities and the politics of accountability. Anthropology in Action, 12(1), 1–10. Bill Readings’ 1997 book, The university in ruins (Harvard University Press) is cited as the source of this argument. They continued: “The ‘university of excellence’ is less concerned with issues of scholarship or disciplinary knowledge than with ‘best practice,’ ‘quality assurance,’ ‘output and productivity’ and ‘value for money’” (p. 1).

50 Turcotte, P. L., & Holmes, D. (2021). From domestication to imperial patronage: Deconstructing the biomedicalisation of occupational therapy. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593211067891

51 See Aldrich, R. M., Gupta, J., & Laliberte Rudman, D. (2018). “Academic innovation in service of” what? The scope of North American occupational science doctoral graduates’ contributions from 1994–2015. Journal of Occupational Science, 25(2), 270–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2017.1365257 Their analysis of dissertation abstracts by PhD graduates in occupational science between 1994 and 2015 (N=101), suggested that only 40 made a direct contribution and 29 an indirect contribution to the study of occupation. The ‘direct contribution’ group overwhelmingly used qualitative methodologies (80%), while the ‘no contribution’ group used both qualitative (37%) and quantitative methods (47%). The authors did not report on the presence and distribution of studies contributing to biomedicine. As I will later suggest, biomedical research can be used to answer consequential questions about occupation that advance theory in the discipline.

52 See discussion in Morrison, R. (2021). Pragmatism in the initial history of occupational therapy. Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional, 29, e2147.; Morrison, R. (2016). Pragmatist epistemology and Jane Addams: Fundamental concepts for the social paradigm of occupational therapy. Occupational Therapy International, 23(4), 295–304. https://doi.org/10.1002/oti.1430

53 Frank, G. (2020). Social transformation theory and practice: Resources for radicals in participatory art, occupational therapy and social movements. In H. Van Bruggen, S. Kantartzis & N. Pollard (Eds.), And a seed was planted (pp. 107–128). Whiting & Birch. Also see Frank, G., & Muriithi, B. A. K. (2015). Theorizing social transformation in occupational science: The American civil rights movement and South African struggle against apartheid as ‘occupational reconstructions’. Journal of South African Occupational Therapy, 45(1), 11–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2310-3833/2015/v45no1a3; Frank, G. (2013). Twenty-first century pragmatism and social justice: Problematic situations and occupational reconstructions in post-civil war Guatemala. In M. Cutchin & V. A. Dickie (Eds.), Transactional perspectives on occupation (pp. 229–243). Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4429-5_18

54 This accounts in part for my positionality, a term that “both describes an individual’s world view and the position they adopt about a research task and its social and political context” (p. 1). In Holmes, A., & Darwin, G. (2020). Researcher positionality – A consideration of its influence and place in qualitative research – A new researcher guide. Shanlax International Journal of Education, 8(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.34293/education.v8i4.3232

55 See my work on feminism and disability rights and on indigenous political, territorial, and cultural sovereignty. Frank, G. (2000). Venus on wheels: Two decades of dialogue on disability, biography and being female in America. University of California Press.; Frank, G., & Goldberg, C. (2010). Defying the odds: The Tule River Tribe’s struggle for sovereignty in three centuries. Yale University Press.

56 Ann Wilcock’s thinking about occupation as healthful “doing, being, becoming, and belonging” has been useful to a significant body of contributors in occupational science. I do not take Wilcock to say that all occupations are healthful or that occupation is always helpful, but as an orientation toward certain possibilities for optimizing human health and well-being. I read her views as alternative and complementary to biomedicine. I do not know how Wilcock would have responded to this interpretation. Wilcock, A. A. (1999). Reflections on doing, being and becoming. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 46(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1630.1999.00174.x

57 Frank, G. (2017). Collective occupations and social transformations: A mad hot curriculum. In N. Pollard & D. Sakellariou (Eds.), Occupational therapies without borders: Integrating justice with practice (pp. 596-604). Elsevier Press. See the short video links in this article to access the emotional dimensions of occupational reconstructions in a school for refugee children who survived violence in Northern Uganda and for ethnic and racially diverse children in New York City after the 9-11 attack.

58 See, for example, Guajardo, A., Kronenberg, F., & Ramugondo, E. L. (2015). Southern occupational therapies: Emerging identities, epistemologies and practices. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45(1), 3–10. https://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2310-3833/2015/v45no1a2 The authors of this important article call for recognition and acceptance of alternative foundations (Southern epistemologies) in occupational therapy. In their critique of foundational assumptions originating in the global north, however, they attribute the excessive individualism of the profession’s theories and practices on the current period’s ideologies of neo-liberalism and pragmatism. This pairing, in my view, is ahistorical and inaccurate. Neoliberalism is a contemporary phenomenon that does valorize individualism through its emphasis on libertarianism and the conservative ethos of personal responsibility versus societal level responses to shared problems (e.g., the claim that public health measures such mask wearing and vaccination violate individual rights). Pragmatism does not valorize the individual, although occupational therapy in the north is delivered within national health care systems that offer biomedical interventions at the level of the individual. John Dewey and Jane Addams, pragmatists contributing to the origins of occupational therapy, offered philosophies and practices using an epistemology that was itself an alternative to the entrenched individualism of dualist European philosophy. Dewey sets out this alternative epistemology in Experience and Nature. The ‘experience’ he refers to is synonymous with culture—he had considered calling the book Culture and Nature. According to the important article by Dickie, Cutchin, and Humphry (2006), Dewey did not elevate either the individual or culture but viewed them non-dualistically as reciprocal, mutually constituting, or, to use his word, ‘transactional’ aspects of human experience in time. I would add that ‘transactionalism,’ like ‘occupation,’ is only an element of pragmatism’s non-dualistic, alternative epistemology that I would like to see occupational science rediscover and reconstruct. See Dickie, V., Cutchin, M. P., & Humphry, R. (2006). Occupation as transactional experience: A critique of individualism in occupational science. Journal of Occupational Science, 13(1), 83 93. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2006.9686573; Dewey, J. (1929). Experience and nature. George Allen & Unwin. (Original work published 1924); See the excellent summary of Dewey’s philosophical worldview in Cutchin, M. (2008). John Dewey’s metaphysical ground-map and its implications for geographic inquiry. Geoforum, 39, 1555-1569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.01.014

59 See Hildebrand, D. (2021). “John Dewey”. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Winter 2021 ed.). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/dewey/ Hildebrand wrote about Dewey’s experimentalism as a cycle of practice leading to theory, followed by sequenced refinements of practice and theory: “Dewey comfortably wore the mantle of public intellectual, infusing public issues with lessons found through philosophy. He spoke on topics of broad moral significance, such as human freedom, economic alienation, race relations, women’s suffrage, war and peace, human freedom, and educational goals and methods. Typically, discoveries made via public inquiries were integrated back into his academic theories and aided their revision. This practice-theory-practice rhythm powered every area of Dewey’s intellectual enterprise, and perhaps explains why his philosophical theories are still discussed, criticized, adapted, and deployed in many academic and practical arenas” (Emphasis in original).

60 Santos, V., Frank, G., & Mizue, A. (2020). Candangos: Occupational reconstruction as a tool to understand social problems and transformative action in the utopian city of Brasília. Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional, 28(3), 765–783. https://doi.org/10.4322/2526-8910.ctoAO2061; Frank, G., & Santos, V. (2020). Occupational reconstructions: Resources for social transformation in challenging times. Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional, 28(2), 1–5. http://dx.doi.org/10.4322/2526-8910.ctoED2802

61 See Campbell, J. (1992). The community reconstructs: The meaning of pragmatic social thought. University of Illinois Press; Westbrook, R. B. (2015). John Dewey and American democracy. Cornell University Press.

62 Campbell, J. (1984). Dewey’s method of social reconstruction. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, 20(4), 363–393. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40320062 See also Baranek, G. T., Frank, G., & Aldrich, R. M. (2020). Meliorism and knowledge mobilization: Past, present, and future possibilities for occupational science. Journal of Occupational Science, 28(2), 274–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2020.1824802

63 See Endnote 31 regarding Mattingly (1988) on occupational therapists’ clinical reasoning, Schneiderhan (2011) on Dewey’s concept of the ‘end-in-view,’ and Gray’s (1998) discussion of practice using occupation as ends and means.

64 Dewey’s emphasis on cooperation and on democratic action must be reconciled with revolutionary thinking and revolutionary action to resist and replace authoritarian governments. Dewey went to the newly established Republic of China to observe social reconstruction after imperial rule was replaced through revolution for democracy in 1911. He also observed and, it appears, initially supported the Russian revolution of 1917. He rejected state communism’s authoritarian turn under Lenin and Stalin. He remained on the Left, however, while his disenchanted early fellow travelers—his student, philosopher Sidney Hook, and literary critic, Lionel Trilling—turned to the Right. For the early Hook, pragmatism was a radical method combined with Marxism, “a program of action; his [the Marxist’s] analyses a method of clearing the way for action,” as quoted by J. E. Greene. Greene wrote: “This methodology was experimental since ideas are true only so long as they are verified by experience and practice. The Marxist method was not, as the Communists and the USSR imagined, a rigid dogma and foolproof science, but a flexible method where conclusions were provisional and revised according to the dictates of experience. These themes bore the imprint the John Dewey’s pragmatism.” Greene, D. E. (n.d.). The Left Hook: The Marxism of Sidney Hook. Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal http://links.org.au/node/4664 See also, Bender, T. (1990). Lionel Trilling and American culture. American Quarterly, 42(2), 324–347. https://doi.org/10.2307/2713020

65 In this regard, Dewey’s humanistic view of how individuals and groups interpret power and practice agency practices is closer, say, to Antonio Gramsci and Stuart Hall, than to the post-structuralists Foucault, Althusser, and Balibar. I am arguing for the acceptability of all these philosophers to explain phenomena, depending on how they are applied. Knowledgeability and strong reasoning are more important than ideological purity. See Althusser, L. (2020). On ideology. Verso Books.; Balibar, É. (2017). Citizen-subject: Foundations for philosophical anthropology (S. Miller, Trans.). Fordham University Press. (Original work published 1970)

66 See Chantiluke, R., Kwoba, B., & Nkopo, A. (Eds.). (2018) Rhodes must fall: The struggle to decolonise the racist heart of Empire. Zed Books.

67 Agamben, G. (1999). Homo Sacer: Sovereign power and bare life. Stanford University Press.

68 Based on conversations with Motimele about her work, I have applied my reading of poststructuralist theories by Althusser on the materiality of ideology (embodiment, performance, interpellation) and Balibar on subject-citizen formation under regimes of law and medicine that regulate inclusion and exclusion.

69 West, C. (1989). The American evasion of philosophy: A genealogy of pragmatism. The University of Wisconsin Press. West viewed pragmatist action, its experimentalism through doing, as akin to Marxist praxis. See, especially, Ch. 6, Prophetic pragmatism: Cultural criticism and political engagement (pp. 211–239), where West talks about pragmatist action in the service of a culture of creative democracy.

70 West is hardly the only scholar to bring together Dewey’s and Freire’s thinking. Byrd, S., & McReynolds, S. (2018). Where’s John Dewey and Paulo Freire?: Ideas on “recovering” the “lost C”. Hispania, 100(5), 181–182. http://doi.org/10.1353/hpn.2018.0044; Torres, C. A. (2001). Democracy and education: John Dewey and Paulo Freire. Educational Practice and Theory, 23(1), 25-37. https://doi.org/10.7459/ept/23.1.03; Betz, J. (1992). John Dewey and Paulo Freire. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, 28(1), 107–126. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40320356 For a critical view concerning both these thinkers’ views in relation the environmental crisis, see Bowers, C. A. (2006). Silences and double binds: Why the theories of John Dewey and Paulo Freire cannot contribute to revitalizing the commons. Capitalism Nature Socialism, 17(3), 71–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/10455750600874563 See the important chapters: Magalhães, L. (2012). What would Paulo Freire think of occupational science? In G. E. Whiteford & C. Hocking (Eds.), Occupational science: Society, inclusion, participation (pp. 8–9). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118281581.ch2

71 Pinn, A. B. (2003). Terror and triumph: The nature of Black religion. Fortress Press.; Cone, J. H. (2019). Black theology and Black power, 50^th Anniversary. Orbis Books. (Original work published 1989). See also: Covington-Ward, Y., & Jouili, J. S. (2021). Embodying Black religions in Africa and its diasporas. Duke University Press.

72 Studies conducted by the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute give a glimpse of where occupational science research into the lived experience of social healing could begin. In a news interview, evolutionary anthropologist Daniel Fessler, the Institute’s director, discussed a naturalistic social experiment to evoke acts of kindness: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/ucla-anthropologist-makes-the-case-for-kindness. Other naturalistic studies by Fessler’s group investigate the neurocognitive, endocrinological, and behavioral dimensions of social phenomena related to participation, exclusion and inclusion, polarization, and cooperation. http://www.danielmtfessler.com/select-publications

73 See the 6-month New York Times 40-minute visual investigation of the January 6^th insurrection based on thousands of on-site videos and police communications. Day of rage: How Trump supporters took the U.S. Capitol, June 30, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000007606996/capitol-riot-trump-supporters.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-capitol-mob&variant=show&region=BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT&block=storyline_flex_guide_recirc

74 On the latter point, see McGhee, H. (2021). The sum of us: What racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together. Random House; Campbell, J. E. (2018). Polarized: Making sense of a divided America, with new Afterword. Princeton University Press. (Original work published 2016); Haidt, J. (2012). The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. Vintage.

75 Also see Aldrich, R. M. (2018). Strengthening associated living: A Deweyan approach to occupational justice. Journal of Occupational Science, 25(3), 337–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2018.1484386

76 Constitutional Rights Foundation, John Dewey and the reconstruction of American democracy. https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-24-1-c-john-dewey-and-the-reconstruction-of-american-democracy To paraphrase this source: Liberal journalist Walter Lippman wrote that ordinary citizens lacked the intelligence, knowledge, and time to think about and decide important public issues. Lippman favored a democracy in which experts supplied information to elected professional politicians who would decide what laws and policies were best for the American people. The role of the citizen, Lippman said, should be limited to voting in occasional elections. Dewey argued in The public and its problems, in 1927, that American democracy should be ‘by the people’ not just ‘for the people’ and that its most important phase is the thinking, discussion, and debate that comes before voting in local unions, professional organizations, and business associations that regularly meet to deliberate on public questions. https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-24-1-c-john-dewey-and-the-reconstruction-of-american-democracy

77 See previous Endnote.

78 Dewey, J. (1916), Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. Macmillan.

79 McIntyre, L. (2017). Post-truth. The MIT Press; Farkas, J., & Schou, J. (2020). Post-truth, fake news and democracy: Mapping the politics of falsehood. Routledge; Cosentino, G. (2020). Social media and the post-truth world order: The global dynamics of disinformation. Springer Nature (Palgrave).

80 Centola, D. (2021). Change: How to make big things happen. Little, Brown and Company; Spade, D. (2020). Mutual aid: Building solidarity during this crisis (and the next). Verso.

81 Ralston, S. J. (2010). Dewey’s theory of moral (and political) deliberation unfiltered. Education and Culture, 26(1), 23–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5703/educationculture.26.1.23 On the theory of deliberative democracy, see essays by Jon Elster, Jürgen Habermas, Joshua Cohen, and John Rawls in Bohman, J., & Rehg, W. (1997). Deliberative democracy: Essays on reason and politics. The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/2324.001.0001

82 Dewey, J. (1915). The school and society (rev. ed.). The University of Chicago Press. First edition published in 1899 and a new edition appeared in 1900; Dewey, J. (1902). The child and the curriculum. The University of Chicago Press. Combined editions remain in print.

83 Cutchin, M. P., Aldrich, R. M., Bailliard, A. L., & Coppola, S. (2008). Action theories for occupational science: The contributions of Dewey and Bourdieu. Journal of Occupational Science, 15(3), 157–165. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2008.968662510.1080/14427591.2008.9686625

84 Jasper, J. M. (2011). Emotions and social movements: Twenty years of theory and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 37, 285–303.

85 Here just two among dozens using the search term civil society. The Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, is “the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights.” Its website states that it provides thousands of grants annually through a network of national and regional foundations and offices. https://opensocietyfoundations.org/who-we-are; The Charles Stuart Mott Foundation funds projects around the world through its civil society grants in local communities, “where people most directly relate to the social, economic and political processes taking place in their countries, and where they can be most active in shaping them.” https://www.mott.org/work/civil-society/strengthening-civic-space/

86 See historian Timothy Snyder’s (2017) book On tyranny: Twenty lessons from the twentieth century (Tim Duggan Books), a distillation of resistance strategies under Nazism and Stalinism that involve mindful embodied action. The one that stands out for me is “Make eye contact and small talk,” occupations that maintain the fabric of society and potential networks of solidarity in the face of divisive politics. These techniques are crucial to study.

87 Pollard, N., Sakellariou, D., & Kronenberg, F. (Eds.). (2008). A political practice of occupational therapy. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; Kronenberg, F., Pollard, N., & Sakellariou, D. (2011). Occupational therapies without borders-Volume 2: Towards an ecology of occupation-based practices. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; see especially the chapter Kronenberg, F., & Ramugondo, E. (2011). Ubuntourism: Engaging divided people in post-apartheid South Africa. (pp. 195-208).

88 Wiener, N. (1988). The human use of human beings: Cybernetics and society (Reprint of Houghton Mifflin Company 1954 Rev. ed.). Da Capo Publishing. (Original work published 1950)