Between gluckman and foucault: Historicizing rumour and gossip

“…His view that rumours emerge when individuals try to comprehend ambiguous situations by filling gaps in their knowledge is especially relevant; the contexts of 'sudden crises, sustained tension, impending decisions' (Shibutani 1966, 27) in which he suggests rumours flourish are all apt descriptions of the situation mothers face as they search for a suitable school for their children diagnosed with autism. More recently, the political possibilities of rumour as a form of counterhegemonic discourse offering an informal outlet for collective criticism have gained prominence (Feldman-Savelsburg, Ndonko, and Schmidt-Ehry 2000;Samper 2002;Scheper-Hughes 1996;White 1994). Maternal talk, I argue, may sometimes be seen as a tactic of resistance to the official claims of medical, therapeutic and education experts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Rumour has it: the impact of maternal talk on primary school choice for children diagnosed with autism

Lilley

2014

International Journal of Inclusive Education

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This article explores the pivotal role of rumour in shaping primary school choice decisions for parents of children diagnosed with autism. Drawing on semistructured interviews with 22 mothers conducted in Sydney, Australia, this study points to the varied functions of grapevine knowledge about schools gleaned in diverse contexts, including early intervention settings, support groups and neighbourhood communities. Parents, especially mothers, provide one another with pragmatic information about schools as well as advice on how the education 'system' works. They also repeat 'horror' stories of bullying incidents and social exclusion that have a powerful affective force. Educational sociologists have referred to this as 'hot' knowledge. These data demonstrate the need for more detailed analyses of hot knowledge in understanding how families of children diagnosed with autism make choices between segregated and mainstream education options, as well as deciding on particular schools or classrooms within the various sectors of the education market. In studying these processes, we gain a better understanding of how mothers negotiate multiple forms of knowledge during periods of school transition and of the importance of this process in forging maternal identity. The qualitative research presented helps us to conceptualise broader processes of social inclusion and exclusion experienced by these families.

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“…In the case of Bordertown, rugby was useful in the sense that it displayed the various national identities in Britain, while also raising the possibility of a British identity. Links within and between communities rely on members' involvement in the social networks making up the communities, including participation in such things as gossip and knowledge about the community (Gluckman 1963: 308; White 1994: 76). In smaller communities, these networks operate through personal contacts.…”

Section: Description Of Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public and private: national identities in a Scottish Borders community*

Gill¹

2005

Nations Nationalism

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Abstract. This paper is an exploration of national identities among sports people in a community in the Scottish Borders. This group experiences a split in their identities. Publicly, they are ascribed an ambiguous national identity by the surrounding national communities. Privately, and among fellow community members, they unambiguously assert national identity. This paper examines the way this split is managed, arguing that the performance of public ambiguity is expected, but is supported by the private performance of nationality. National identity is analysed specifically as a performance, and sport is the context in which this performance takes place.

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Between gluckman and foucault: Historicizing rumour and gossip

Cited by 55 publications

References 32 publications

‘A witch has no horn’

‘A witch has no horn’

Rumour has it: the impact of maternal talk on primary school choice for children diagnosed with autism

Public and private: national identities in a Scottish Borders community*

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