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The Socio-Materiality of Dirty Work: A Critical Realist Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Galazka

    (Cardiff University, UK)

  • Joe O’Mahoney

    (Cardiff University, UK)

Abstract

New materialist applications in ‘dirty work’ studies have rightly emphasised the importance of materiality alongside symbolism. However, these approaches have neglected important themes irreducible to the material world, such as temporality, reflexivity and social structure. This article develops an alternative critical realist perspective on socio-materiality in dirty work which emphasises these themes. It draws on 2016–2017 ethnographic data on the work of clinical photographers of wounds in a UK specialist outpatient wound healing clinic. First, it shows how photographers’ reflexivity mediates the relationship between their embodied materiality and their agency in the physical domain. Second, it highlights the temporal dynamics between reflexive agents, their material environment, and the context of their operation. Finally, it emphasises the non-conflationary relationship between the social structures of the medical hierarchy and photographers’ agency in dirty work. Together, these contributions highlight the utility of an emergent, realist ontology in understanding the dynamics of dirty work.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Galazka & Joe O’Mahoney, 2023. "The Socio-Materiality of Dirty Work: A Critical Realist Perspective," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(2), pages 432-448, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:37:y:2023:i:2:p:432-448
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170211011321
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tim Dant & David Bowles, 2003. "Dealing with Dirt: Servicing and Repairing Cars," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 8(2), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Rachel Lara Cohen & Carol Wolkowitz, 2018. "The Feminization of Body Work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 42-62, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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