Baylor University Press
Titles appearing in Reference — Research Book News — November 2007
Dirty work; the social construction of taint.
Ed. by Shirley K. Drew et al.
Baylor University Press, ©2007 271 p. $29.95 HD6955
978-1-932792-73-7
Three ethnographers (with Bowling Green State U. in Ohio and U. of Missouri) present this study of the occupational cultures of people for whom "dirty work" is central to their jobs. Truckers, secretaries, nurses, fire and ambulance workers, correctional officers, judges and attorneys, HIV/AIDS and addiction caregivers, police officers, and forensic pathologists all deal with, the editors say, a stigmatization or "taint" on the parts of their job that are degrading or unspeakable at the dinner table. Twelve essays examine habits of "taint management" in each of these fields, describing how dirty workers communicate about their occupations, their coworkers, and the foul aspects of their work. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
