Critical Theory

Abstract

The chapter describes and situates the critical research paradigm as valuable to the study of clinical medicine settings. In the introduction, the authors define critical theory, situate it historically, and describe its most salient features. The remainder of the chapter is organized into two parts. The first part outlines three different definitions of power accompanied by a discussion of their relevance within clinical education. The second part of the chapter examines specific critical theories with a discussion of their different applications within clinical education.

Glossary

Advocacy

Advocacy is the act of exercising one’s power and privilege to support people or groups which experience marginalization, discrimination, oppression and other forms of compromised agency.

Agency

Agency is theorized as the capacity to act in the world and exercise self-determination. Free choice can be limited by social structures. Critical theories are concerned with the limits on agency that are linked to intersecting power relations such as gender, class, religion, ability, race, ethnicity etc.

Axiology

Axiology(from Greek ἀξία, axia, "value, worth"; and -λογία, -logia) is the philosophical study of value. It is either the collective term for ethics and aesthetics, philosophical fields that depend crucially on notions of worth, or the foundation for these fields, and thus similar to value theory and meta-ethics.

Critical Discourse

Practices and rules about what can and cannot be said, who can speak with the blessings of authority and who must listen, whose social constructions are valid and whose are erroneous and unimportant (Adapted from: Kincheloe and McLaren 2011)

Discrimination

Prejudice or prejudicial outlook, action or treatment (i.e. racial discrimination); the act, practice or instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Diversity

Diversity is the range of human differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin, and political beliefs.

Equity

Derives from ideas of social justice and refers to access to fair and equal treatment under the law, regardless of race, social class or gender. It represents a belief that there are some things which people should have, that there are basic needs that should be fulfilled, that burdens and rewards should not be spread too divergently across the community, and that policy should be directed with impartiality, fairness and justice towards these ends." (Falk, Jim, Hampton, Greg, Hodgkinson, Ann, Parker, Kevin and Rorris, Arthur, 1993, Social Equity and the Urban Environment, Report to the Commonwealth Environment Protection Agency, AGPS, Canberra, p.2.)

Equality

The quality of being the same in quantity, measure, value or status (Princeton’s WordNet)

Hegemony

Preponderant influence or authority over others, domination of a state, group, persons. The social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group, institution, country etc. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Hidden curriculum

The hidden curriculum is explored through the social norms and moral beliefs tacitly transmitted through the socialization process that structure classroom social relationships. (Giroux, 1983, 48 as found in Skelton, 177)

Inclusion

The term "inclusion" has a number of different meanings, often relating to disabled or disaffected children. ...Inclusion is the continuous process of increasing the presence, participation and achievement of all learners in education establishments. www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/D/Defining-Inclusion.htm Inclusion means that all people, regardless of their abilities, disabilities, or health care needs, have the right to: Be respected and appreciated as valuable members of their communities.Inclusion, while closely related, is a separate concept from diversity. SHRM defines inclusion as “the achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization's success.

Inequities

Lack of fairness or justice (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Intersectionality

The term intersectionality was coined by black feminist scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 “Intersectionality” represents an analytic approach that attempts to identify how interlocking systems of power impact those who are most marginalized in society. Intersectionality considers that various forms of social stratification, such as class, race, sexual orientation, age, religion, creed, disability and gender, do not exist separately from each other but are woven together. While the theory began as an exploration of the oppression of women of color within society, today the analysis is potentially applied to all social categories, including social identities usually seen as dominant when considered independently.”

Marginalization

Marginalization has been defined as a complex process of relegating specific groups of people to the lower or outer edge of society. It effectively pushes these groups of people to the margin of society economically, politically, culturally and socially following the policy of exclusion. https://www.sociologyguide.com/civil-society/marginalization.php

Oppression

A situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Political Project

An organized and focused campaign to raise awareness and interrupt the normative ideas that support the status quo. To produce material, ideological or political change.

Power

The notion of power is a contested term; there is no one prevailing definition of power, just as there is no singular critical theory. Nevertheless, for scholarship to carry the label “critical”, power will have to be foregrounded. Power is sometimes referred to as the capacity/ability to act or produce an effect, physical or mental might, the influence or exercise one’s will over others, the possession of legal or political authority, the “ability of an individual or group to achieve their own goals or aims when others are trying to prevent them from realizing them” (Weber 1925b/1978:926). Critical scholars are concerned with applications of power that impact the capacity of individuals or groups to share equally in social, political, cultural and economic life.

Power Relations

Power relations refers to the matrix of political, cultural, social and economic structures and relationships that influence who and what has power in a given content. "At the very heart of the power relationship, and constantly provoking it, are the recalcitrance of the will and the intransigence of freedom" (Foucault, The Subject and Power, p. 221, Afterward to H. L. Dreyfus and P. Rabinow, Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1982)

Privilege

Privilege is the socio-political and economic advantage enjoyed by or afforded to individuals or groups of people in society on the basis of their class, caste, gender, race, ethnicity, ability etc.

Reflexivity

Thoughtful, conscious, self-awareness” Examination of one’s own assumptions and reasoning in the production of knowledgeAwareness of own social positioning, personal experiences, and socialization. Reflection on taken-for-granted aspects of daily life

Social Justice

Justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, health, wellbeing, opportunity and privileges within a society. Aim is to create a more egalitarian society.