Abjectly Boundless

Within a variety of practice environments, health professionals often experience feelings of disgust and repulsion towards the presence of an abject object. Cadaverous, sick, disabled bodies, troubled minds, wounds, vomit and so forth are all part of health and care work and threaten the clean and proper bodies of those who undertake it, yet this 'unclean' side of health work is rarely accounted for in academic literature. This volume employs the work of Julia Kristeva through a range of case studies drawn from care and nursing settings around the world. It brings together work from researchers and practitioners within the social and health sciences, the caring professions and psychotherapy, to expose and highlight the important impact of the concept of abjection, which historically has been silenced in the health sciences.

'This book is a powerful collection of works, edited by two of the most insightful and radical thinkers in nursing. Rudge and Holmes are a truly formidable duo and they have brought together authors whose works go to fundamental questions for nursing in the 21st century. These chapters challenge the many normative and comforting concepts in which nursing has taken refuge. These authors put new questions on nursing's agenda. Bravo.' Jocalyn Lawler, The University of Sydney, Australia 'From mucous membranes to mutilation, disgust to defilement, horror to honour these are the stock in trade of Kristeva in the clinic. All and more are vividly portrayed in this compelling collection. This volume provides a cornucopia of concepts and applies these in intriguing and innovative ways to nursing practice. To be read with relish.' Anne Marie Rafferty, King's College, London, UK 'Without doubt a compelling read... Rudge and Holmes have produced a well-crafted, informative, highly evocative (and often provocative) text. Each chapter follows a comfortingly similar format, beginning with an introduction that leads to an explicit statement about the aim of the chapter. This careful crafting has ensured consistency across chapters and an overall coherence of the book... there is much to be learned from this book. Collectively, the contributors articulate and make visible the abject. They illuminate considerable potential to rethink ways that bodies are viewed in contemporary health care... I was so absorbed by this book. Rarely have I found a healthcare text so compelling. This is a highly recommended read.' Nursing Philosophy

Trudy Rudge is a professor in the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Sydney, Australia. Dave Holmes is a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences and University Research Chair in Forensic Nursing at the University of Ottawa, Canada Trudy Rudge, Dave Holmes, ,Virginia Schmied, Deborah Lupton, Audrey Giles, Katrina Jaworski, Cary Federman, Patrick O'Byrne, Roanne Thomas-MacLean, Beverleigh Quested, Marilou Gagnon, Marc Lafrance, Annette Street, David Kissane, Jackie Cook, Alicia Evans, Janet McCabe, Sylvie Lauzon, Allison Roderick, Joanna Latimer.

Within a variety of practice environments, health professionals often experience feelings of disgust and repulsion in their practice, and for these intense feelings to occur, an abject object must exist. Cadaverous, sick, disabled bodies, troubled minds, wounds, vomit and so forth are all part of health and care work and threaten the clean and proper bodies of those who undertake it, yet this 'unclean' side of health work is rarely accounted for in academic literature. This volume employs the work of Julia Kristeva, in particular her conception of the psychoanalytical defence mechanism of abjection, to analyse bodies and boundary work in health care. This theorisation of abjection affords the possibility of voicing the incomprehensible in bodies that leak, in the chaos of illness and disease, and in the monstrosity of illnesses such a cancer, as well as much that is deemed 'out of place' in nursing and health care. Presenting a range of case studies drawn from care and nursing settings around the world, this book brings together work from researchers and practitioners within the social and health sciences, the caring professions and psychotherapy, to expose and highlight the important impact of the concept of abjection, which historically has been silenced in the health sciences.

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