Critical realism, agency and sickle cell: case studies of young people with sickle cell disorder at school
Abstract
Critical realism suggests that historical structures may operate as underlying generative mechanisms but not always be activated. This explains the near-absence of references to racism by black students with sickle cell disorder (SCD). Through case studies we show how latent mechanisms are not activated, and how social actors come to develop corporate agency. Themes discussed include: wider/historical racisms (carers' own experiences of overt racism at school); conscious actions (moving away from a school where racism was experienced); naming racism as an emergent strategy (when communal discussions enable multiple negative experiences to be framed and named as racism); and `passing` (not ostensibly experiencing racism if one is sufficiently light-skinned). Critical realism suggests how racism may be structuring the experiences of students with SCD at school even in the absence of specific accounts by young people.Citation
Dyson, Simon Martin and Atkin, Karl and Culley, Lorraine and Dyson, Sue E. (2014) Critical realism, agency and sickle cell: case studies of young people with sickle cell disorder at school. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 37 (13). pp. 2379-2398Journal
Ethnic and Racial StudiesDOI
10.1080/01419870.2013.809130Additional Links
http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/12645/Type
ArticleISSN
0141-9870ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/01419870.2013.809130