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jp 5 ny

David Wästerfors

Professor

jp 5 ny

Case history discourse. A rhetoric of troublesome youngsters and faceless treatment

Author

  • David Wästerfors
  • Malin Åkerström

Summary, in English

In numerous social control settings, staff routinely write case histories on clients to assist colleagues and authorities in treatment decisions. In this article, we examine how such institutional writing constructs ‘working versions’ of youngsters, portraying their objects of care as personally troublesome. Simultaneously, the institution is portrayed as facelessly, uniformly and collectively remedying their behaviour. Using material from a centre for juvenile delinquents in Sweden, we analyse three discursive techniques that accomplish this documentary reality: (1) trouble zooming, (2) mood notes and (3) deflecting staff agency. We also reflect on the social conditions for the recurrent rhetoric.

Department/s

  • Sociology

Publishing year

2015

Language

English

Publication/Series

European Journal of Social Work

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)

Keywords

  • rhetoric
  • juvenile delinquents
  • social control
  • documentary reality

Status

Published

Research group

  • Kriminal- och socialvetenskapligt nätverk

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1369-1457