Dirty Work: The Social Construction of Taint

by Shirley K. Drew (Editor), Melanie B. Mills (Editor), Bob M. Gassaway (Editor)

Overview

Dirty Work profiles a number of occupations that society deems tainted. The volume's vivid, ethnographic reports focus on the communication that helps workers manage the moral, social, and physical "stains" that derive from engaging in such occupations. The creative ways that those who perform such dirty work learn to communicate with each other—and with outsiders—regulate the negative aspects of the work itself and emphasize the positives so that workers can maintain a sense of self-value even while performing devalued occupations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781932792737
Publisher:	Baylor University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	283
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.82(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Shirley K. Drew (Ph.D. Bowling Green State University, Ohio) is Professor of Communication at Pittsburg State University, Kansas.

Melanie B. Mills (Ph.D. Bowling Green State University, Ohio) is Professor of Communication Studies at Eastern Illinois University.

Bob M. Gassaway (Ph.D. University of Missouri) is Professor Emeritus of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico.

Table of Contents

PART I: ETHNOGRAPHY OF TAINT

1 Doing Justice, Shirley K. Drew

2 Dirty Work and Discipline Behind Bars, Sarah J. Tracy & Clifton Scott

3 Riding Fire Trucks and Ambulances with America's Heroes, Clifton Scott & Sarah J. Tracy

4 Without Trucks, We'd Be Naked, Hungry & Homeless!, Melanie Mills

5 Bitching about Secretarial "Dirty Work", Patricia Sotirin

6 Nursing as Dirty Work, Melanie Mills & Amy Schejbal

7 Crack Pipes and TCells: Use of Taint Management by HIV/AIDS/Addiction Caregivers, Stephanie Poole Martinez

PART II: CASE STUDIES

8 Good Cops, Dirty Crimes, Bob M. Gassaway

9 Cops, Crimes, and Community Policing, Shirley K. Drew & Mendy Hulvey

10 The Death Doctors, Bob M. Gassaway

PART III : CONCLUSION

11 Ethnography as Dirty Work, Shirley K. Drew & Melanie Mills

12 Concluding Thoughts, Melanie Mills, Shirley K. Drew, & Bob M. Gassaway

What People are Saying About This

For everyone who has ever wondered 'how on earth' or 'why in the world' people do the dirty work of prison guards, cops, community police, long-distance truck drivers, secretaries, nurses, HIV/AIDS/addiction caregivers, forensic pathologists and their technicians, or even cultural ethnographers in the academy, this book will be a tantalizing, provocative, enlightening, and entertaining read.

H.L. "Bud" Goodall Jr.

For everyone who has ever wondered 'how on earth' or 'why in the world' people do the dirty work of prison guards, cops, community police, long-distance truck drivers, secretaries, nurses, HIV/AIDS/addiction caregivers, forensic pathologists and their technicians, or even cultural ethnographers in the academy, this book will be a tantalizing, provocative, enlightening, and entertaining read.

Editorial Reviews

For everyone who has ever wondered "how on earth" or "why in the world" people do the dirty work of prison guards, cops, community police, long-distance truck drivers, secretaries, nurses, HIV/AIDS/addiction caregivers, forensic pathologists and their technicians, or even cultural ethnographers in the academy, this book will be a tantalizing, provocative, enlightening, and entertaining read.

--H.L. "Bud" Goodall, Jr., Director and Professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University

From the Publisher