Ending on a Negative Note: The Anthropology of Pessimism

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Standard

Ending on a Negative Note : The Anthropology of Pessimism. / Mikkelsen, Henrik Hvenegaard.

I: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 07.2019.

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt

Harvard

Mikkelsen, HH 2019, 'Ending on a Negative Note: The Anthropology of Pessimism', Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

APA

Mikkelsen, H. H. (2019). Ending on a Negative Note: The Anthropology of Pessimism. Manuskript afsendt til publicering.

Vancouver

Mikkelsen HH. Ending on a Negative Note: The Anthropology of Pessimism. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 2019 jul.

Author

Mikkelsen, Henrik Hvenegaard. / Ending on a Negative Note : The Anthropology of Pessimism. I: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 2019.

Bibtex

@article{ede988f19ee54d53ace1ef61da6db41f,
title = "Ending on a Negative Note: The Anthropology of Pessimism",
abstract = "This article discusses how anthropological explorations into areas of healthcare can benefit from a focus on pessimism. The ethnographic basis of my inquiry is an extended fieldwork among eldercare professionals in rural Denmark. The point of departure of the article is the observation that the unwillingness of some elderly to engage in programs aimed at improving their “quality of life” is ascribed to an inherent “pessimism”. The elderly{\textquoteright}s unwillingness is, viewed through current regimes of health and eldercare, thereby considered illegitimate. Optimism, I argue, is a dominant mode of the way the world of healthcare is construed within current regimes of neoliberal politics—a mode that undergirds even the bleakest narratives of the future. Secondly, the article suggests that reflecting on pessimism has the capacity to elicit new perspectives of relevance to not only anthropology but also to the daily practices of health care professionals. ",
author = "Mikkelsen, {Henrik Hvenegaard}",
year = "2019",
month = jul,
language = "English",
journal = "Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute",
issn = "1359-0987",
publisher = "Wiley",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ending on a Negative Note

T2 - The Anthropology of Pessimism

AU - Mikkelsen, Henrik Hvenegaard

PY - 2019/7

Y1 - 2019/7

N2 - This article discusses how anthropological explorations into areas of healthcare can benefit from a focus on pessimism. The ethnographic basis of my inquiry is an extended fieldwork among eldercare professionals in rural Denmark. The point of departure of the article is the observation that the unwillingness of some elderly to engage in programs aimed at improving their “quality of life” is ascribed to an inherent “pessimism”. The elderly’s unwillingness is, viewed through current regimes of health and eldercare, thereby considered illegitimate. Optimism, I argue, is a dominant mode of the way the world of healthcare is construed within current regimes of neoliberal politics—a mode that undergirds even the bleakest narratives of the future. Secondly, the article suggests that reflecting on pessimism has the capacity to elicit new perspectives of relevance to not only anthropology but also to the daily practices of health care professionals.

AB - This article discusses how anthropological explorations into areas of healthcare can benefit from a focus on pessimism. The ethnographic basis of my inquiry is an extended fieldwork among eldercare professionals in rural Denmark. The point of departure of the article is the observation that the unwillingness of some elderly to engage in programs aimed at improving their “quality of life” is ascribed to an inherent “pessimism”. The elderly’s unwillingness is, viewed through current regimes of health and eldercare, thereby considered illegitimate. Optimism, I argue, is a dominant mode of the way the world of healthcare is construed within current regimes of neoliberal politics—a mode that undergirds even the bleakest narratives of the future. Secondly, the article suggests that reflecting on pessimism has the capacity to elicit new perspectives of relevance to not only anthropology but also to the daily practices of health care professionals.

M3 - Journal article

JO - Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

JF - Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

SN - 1359-0987

ER -

ID: 202330467