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This book critically addresses the role of language in our collective construction of ‘normal’ bodies. Addressing a range of concerns linked with visible and invisible, chronic and terminal conditions, the volume probes issues in and around patient and caregiver accounts. Focussing on body conditions associated with breast cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, (type-1) diabetes, epilepsy, partial hearing and autism, the book draws on a range of critical theories to contest collectively assembled notions of ‘abnormality,’ ‘disability’ and ‘impairments.’ It also addresses the need for applied sociolinguists to take account of how our researching practices - the texts we produce, the orientations we assume, the theoretical grounds from which we proceed-- create ‘meanings’ about bodies and ‘normalcy,’ and the importance of remaining ever vigilant and civically responsible in what we do or claim to do.
Over the last couple of years, Ramanathan has played a leading role in developing a critical and nuanced approach to language and health complementing the dominant psycholinguistic approaches to health and the body. In this book she demonstrates her expertise with a balanced review of literature on the body from different disciplines from different parts of the world. Her sensitivity to perspectives on the body grounded in diverse settings enriches her book. The book is written in a very accessible and is theory rich which will clearly enhance its value to a large community of readers across the globe. I strongly recommend the book to scholars interested in the rapidly developing field of the body, language and health.
Vaidehi Ramanathan is a professor of applied sociolinguistics in the department of linguistics at the University of California, Davis. Her previous publications include: Alzheimer Discourse: Some Sociolinguistics Dimensions (LEA 1997), The Politics of TESOL Education: Writing, Knowledge, critical pedagogy (2002, Routledge), and The English-Vernacular Divide: Postcolonial Language Politics and Practice (Multilingual Matters, 2005).
Chapter 1: Introduction: Why Bodies Matter
Chapter 2: On Metaprescriptive Utterances: Cancer, Breasts, and Gazes
Chapter 3: Scripting Selves: (Auto) Bio-graphical Writing of Alzheimer Patients and Caregivers
Chapter 4: Poststructuralist Discourses and Chronic Ailments: Diabetes, Epilepsy and Body Breakdowns
Chapter 5: Communication Challenges: Autism, Partial Hearing and Parental Choices
Chapter 6: Texts and Meaning-making: Critical Revisitations in Disability-related Research
Chapter 7: Critical Ailment Research in Applied Socio-linguistics: Power, Perception, and Social Change