Lupton, Deborah. 2013. Risk. 2nd. London and New York: Routledge.
Review by Michael Beach
Deborah Lupton takes a fairly thorough look at risk from a social perspective. She spends time comparing the ‘objective’ (read numerical) expression of risk in the form of the invention of statistics and actuarial science. Then she makes a coproduction argument how this approach is a function of social factors, and how belief in numerical objectivity may be misplaced.
She spends time examining risk from theory, culture, government, ‘otherness’, and pleasure. Lupton further gets more specific around cultural and social issues with a focus on modernity and an increased attention on reflexivity. By modernity she means increases societal preoccupation with “individualization, reflexivity and globalization” (p. 77). When Lupton speaks of reflexivity, she breaks ‘societies’ into like-minded people concerning risk rather than thinking about those defined by political borders. For example, those who seek risk such as adventurists reflect their interpretation of risk, as opposed to people who consider medical pandemics.
Aside from the introduction, the author references several major authors related to chapter heading topics. Her chapters tend to be a review of their various positions, followed by her own support and criticism of what the other authors have to say about each. It’s a helpful approach for anyone interested in digging deeper into the topic of risk in that she essentially provides a reading list of contemporary thought.
Review by Michael Beach
Deborah Lupton takes a fairly thorough look at risk from a social perspective. She spends time comparing the ‘objective’ (read numerical) expression of risk in the form of the invention of statistics and actuarial science. Then she makes a coproduction argument how this approach is a function of social factors, and how belief in numerical objectivity may be misplaced.
She spends time examining risk from theory, culture, government, ‘otherness’, and pleasure. Lupton further gets more specific around cultural and social issues with a focus on modernity and an increased attention on reflexivity. By modernity she means increases societal preoccupation with “individualization, reflexivity and globalization” (p. 77). When Lupton speaks of reflexivity, she breaks ‘societies’ into like-minded people concerning risk rather than thinking about those defined by political borders. For example, those who seek risk such as adventurists reflect their interpretation of risk, as opposed to people who consider medical pandemics.
Aside from the introduction, the author references several major authors related to chapter heading topics. Her chapters tend to be a review of their various positions, followed by her own support and criticism of what the other authors have to say about each. It’s a helpful approach for anyone interested in digging deeper into the topic of risk in that she essentially provides a reading list of contemporary thought.
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