Power, Politics, and the Framing of Environmental Illness |
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| Authors: | Thomas E. Shriver Deborah A. White AlemSeghed Kebede |
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| Affiliation: | Is an assistant professor of sociology at Oklahoma State University. His primary research interests are in social movements and environmental sociology. He has published in these areas in Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, Sociological Focus, and Sociological Spectrum;. Is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at Oklahoma State University. Her research interests include environmental sociology, social psychology, medical sociology, and death and dying. She is currently working on her dissertation entitled, "The Symbolic Meaning of Living and Dying with HIV.";Is a candidate for a Ph.D. in sociology at Oklahoma State University. His current research is focused on the genesis and development of social movements in the non-Western world and their impact on the cultural/political repertoire of their respective societies. |
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| Abstract: | The medical community, along with other government agencies, has created its own frame of environmental illness. This frame has been generally accepted by the American public. In this paper we discuss framing in general and the factors related to how the environmental illness frame has been constructed and maintained. We offer a brief history of the medical institution and illustrate the frame with its definitions of environmental illness. Qualitative data from a study of Oak Ridge, a contaminated community located in Tennessee, are examined to analyze the consequences of challenging the environmental illness frame. Implications for future research are discussed. |
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