Somatic Society and Social Order

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Questions and Answers

What is primarily addressed by the concerns of the somatic society?

Increasing population density

Promoting global travel

Maximizing human lifespan

Regulating bodies and their interactions (correct)

Which of the following is NOT one of Turner’s four ‘r’s?

Regulation

Reproduction

Restoration (correct)

Representation

According to the content, what role does medicine play within the somatic society?

It serves a moral as well as clinical function. (correct)

It regulates public behaviors exclusively.

It functions purely on a clinical level.

It provides recreational health services.

What does the term 'surveillance' refer to in the context of bodies within society?

The assessment and correction of bodies Signup and view all the answers

How is 'restraint' conceptualized in Turner’s social tasks?

Inducements to control desire and passion Signup and view all the answers

What is a key concern associated with the regulation of bodies?

Ensuring safety during physical interactions Signup and view all the answers

The debates surrounding which issues are characterized by the regulation of bodies?

Pro- and anti-abortion and fertility matters Signup and view all the answers

Turner's analysis suggests that as society becomes secularized, it also becomes more:

Medicalized Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant consequence of bodies that transcend boundaries in political contexts?

They may become politically vulnerable. Signup and view all the answers

In Oleschuk and Vallianatos's study, what was one way Arab Canadian immigrant women framed their bodies?

In relation to their home country's norms. Signup and view all the answers

How did the Arab Canadian immigrant women express their frustration regarding bodily practices?

By feeling isolated and alienated. Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of society does Elias' figurational sociology focus on?

The interactions between individuals. Signup and view all the answers

What are social changes associated with, according to the content?

The limitations on how bodies can be used. Signup and view all the answers

What does Elias explore in 'The Civilizing Process'?

Transformations in personal manners and etiquette. Signup and view all the answers

What did the narrative of immigration based on dignity help the women reframe?

Issues like weight gain and poor habits. Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'embodied boundaries' refer to in the context of the study?

The internalized perceptions of one's body. Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'biographical disruption' refer to in the context of chronic illness?

A shift in the way individuals perceive their life narrative due to illness Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by the concept of 're-embodiment' in the experience of chronic illness?

The process of adapting to a new understanding of one's body and identity Signup and view all the answers

According to Simon Williams, the initial state of embodiment is characterized by which of the following?

Taking the body for granted during daily activities Signup and view all the answers

What theme is emphasized in the exploration of the sociology of the body?

How virtual spaces can misrepresent physical bodies Signup and view all the answers

Gareth Williams refers to 'narrative reconstruction' in the context of illness as:

Creating a new life story that incorporates experiences of illness Signup and view all the answers

How does illness affect the temporal continuity of an individual’s life according to Riessman?

It disrupts the ability to see clear connections between past and present Signup and view all the answers

In understanding chronic illness, what is often overlooked according to Engman?

The embodied basis of disruptions and reconstructions Signup and view all the answers

The experience of dys-embodiment can best be described as:

A disconnect between one’s identity and bodily state Signup and view all the answers

What leads to the articulation of a biographical disruption in post-operative organ transplant recipients?

Inability to incorporate bodily changes into daily life Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements best describes the impact of illness on a person's daily life?

Illness affects the capacity to utilize accumulated embodied knowledge. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of body work, which professions are primarily mentioned as involved in this practice?

Doctors, nurses, dentists, and physiotherapists Signup and view all the answers

According to the content, what is the relationship between medicine, health, care, and the body?

They are interlinked and affect each other significantly. Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'embodied disruption' refer to in the context presented?

A change in bodily capacity affecting daily intentions. Signup and view all the answers

How do the participants' incidents related to their health influence their future projections?

They are prompted to reconsider their future outlook. Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant consideration in health and social care analyses according to the content?

Integration of the body's materiality in analyses. Signup and view all the answers

What might happen when a person's bodily intentions can no longer be manifested?

They are likely to face a biographical disruption. Signup and view all the answers

Which author explored the civilizing process as it relates to manners and state formation?

Elias, Norbert Signup and view all the answers

What significant topic does Michel Foucault address in 'Discipline and Punish'?

The birth of the prison Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following works is concerned with the sociology of health and emotions?

The Expressive Body Signup and view all the answers

What perspective does Jon I. Elstad's article focus on regarding health inequalities?

Psycho-Social Signup and view all the answers

Which book examines the relationship between bodies, culture, and health from a sociological perspective?

Culture, Bodies and the Sociology of Health Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following authored a work that investigates the concept of self-identity in modern society?

Giddens, Anthony Signup and view all the answers

In which work does Arthur W. Frank address concerns regarding the medical simulacrum?

Twin Nightmares Signup and view all the answers

Which author is known for their contribution to the sociology of emotions through the concept of normative masculinity?

Gill, R. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Somatic Society

Focus on regulating spaces between bodies
Examples of somatic society preoccupations: safe sex, sex education, clean needles, global pollution
Somatic society concerned with the human population’s survival
Contemporary political movements coalescing around body matters: pro- and anti-abortion, debates about fertility and infertility, and disabilities
Body regulation within society through institutions of governance, specifically through law, religion, and medicine
Medicine serving a moral as well as clinical function in a secularized society

Turner (2008) identifies four basic social tasks central to social order: Reproduction, Regulation, Restraint, and Representation
Reproduction: refers to the creation of institutions governing populations over time to ensure physical needs are met (e.g., control of sexuality)
Regulation: involves medical surveillance and the control of crime
Restraint: focuses on the inner self and controlling desires and passions in the interests of social organization
Representation: involves the body’s physical presentation on the world’s stage

Monitoring, Assessing, and Correcting Bodies

Turner's conceptualization of the Four 'R's draws heavily on Foucault's ideas about normalization and surveillance
Bodies are monitored, assessed, and corrected within modern institutions
Boundaries perceived as permeable or vulnerable need careful regulation or monitoring to prevent transgressions
Politically vulnerable bodies transcend boundaries and can be deemed 'out of place' which informs politics of migration, borders and popular nationalism

Embodied Boundaries

Boundaries and classificatory systems play into enacted and lived discrimination
Qualitative study on Arab Canadian immigrant women highlighted the impact of embodied boundaries and structural pressures of immigration
Women in the study framed their bodies in relation to Arab women living in their home country and in relation to dominant images of Canadian women
This embodied boundary talk reveals structural pressures of immigration and enables a reframing of those pressures into a narrative of immigration based on dignity

The Sociology of the Body

Social changes have bodily correlates and what bodies are permitted to do is contingent upon social context
Elias (1978) explores changes in manners, etiquette, codes of conduct, dressing, sleeping, eating, and changing ideas about shame and decency associated with bodies
Elias's figurational sociology examines the interactions of individuals to understand social configurations
The sociology of the body explores how people experience illness, how bodies are visualized in virtual, digitized spaces, and how embodiment is shaped by socio-political power relations

The Experience of Chronic Illness

Chronic illness and disability literature highlights the link between the self and the body
Research documents the disruption in the relationship between the body and self with chronic illness
Williams (1996) identifies a move from an 'initial' state of embodiment to an oscillation between states of (dys)embodiment and 're-embodiment' when experiencing chronic illness

Biographical Disruption and Narrative Reconstruction

Moving from a dys-embodied to a re-embodied state requires biographical work resulting from 'biographical disruption' (Bury, 1982)
This can lead to 'narrative reconstruction' (Williams, 1984) which is neither isolated nor linear
Riessman (2015) states that illness disrupts temporal continuity as it lacks the coherence to identify linkages between cause and effect
Engman (2019) suggests that the analytic purchase of biographical disruption is rooted in the embodied basis
Her study of organ transplant recipients highlights the salience of biographical disruption
Participants who experienced bodily changes that constrained their actions were more likely to articulate a biographical disruption

The Materiality of Embodiment

Embodiment collapses the dualisms between the body as object and subject
The future is uncertain when the body's ability to perform habitual behaviors is disrupted

Body Work

Twigg et al. (2011) argue that the material body is essential for analyzing health care in practice
Body work involves assessing, diagnosing, handling, treating, manipulating, and monitoring bodies
It's a component of healthcare occupations: doctors, nurses, dentists, hygienists, paramedics and physiotherapists
Medicine, health, care, and the body are interlinked

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Description

Explore the interplay between somatic society and social order through the lens of body regulation, medical ethics, and contemporary political movements. This quiz examines key concepts related to reproduction, regulation, restraint, and representation as identified by Turner (2008). Delve into societal issues such as safe sex, clean needles, and debates over reproductive rights.