There is a dualism in current policy discourses on public health between neoliberal conceptions of health, and health as a product of social conditions. These conceptions also co-exist in the narratives of citizens. In this qualitative study carried out in the Netherlands, we analysed how people living in structural vulnerability perceive the potential tension of this dualism. Whereas the respondents’ narratives undoubtedly reflect the neoliberal view on health responsibility, their life stories revealed how health was a product of intergenerational transmission of poverty, violence and ill health. Neoliberal policies that expect citizens to minimise health risks were seen as unrealistic and raised feelings of apathy and fatalism. Behavioural messages were considered to oppose personal autonomy. Instead, the respondents appeared to envision health as a joint, balanced effort by themselves, their social network and public services. The tension between their own view on responsibility and the neoliberal view negatively affected their sense of self. These feelings were strengthened by the fact that the respondents felt abandoned by a government that calls upon self-sufficiency to deal with problems outside their control. On the other hand, they also stressed the importance of agency, particularly in breaking vicious transgenerational cycles. These findings indicate that the views of people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods require further elucidation to develop a more nuanced and balanced view on responsibilities for health in public policies, and thus to prevent ignoring the problems faced by people who do not meet the expectations of current neoliberal policies.
Due to the challenges produced by the individualisation of society and the flexibilisation of employment relationships, universities are increasingly investing in career guidance. Managers, however, have little or no vision regarding guidance and counselling. In this article we make a plea for an approach in which students are enabled to develop a career identity (i.e. a story about the meaning of their lives) as a basis for self-directedness. Such stories emerge during a dialogue about felt experiences. Evidence is given that such dialogues are to a large degree absent in educational contexts. Universities are to a large extent ‘disembodied’ places where almost no room exists for emotions and felt experiences. Therefore, a work/learning environment is needed within universities that enables ‘passionate self-directedness’. A short outline for creating such an environment is given. https://doi.org/10.20853/30-3-636
MULTIFILE
This article presents and discusses an extracurricular, co-constructed programme: “The Catalyst Club” as a form of Artistic Educational Commoning (AEC). Having been developed as part of a PhD research at Minerva Art Academy (Groningen, TheNetherlands), The Catalyst Club (TCC) explored new perspectives on the education of artists and designers in a globalized world and created alternative modes of operating in higher art education. It brought together students, alumni, teachers from a range of disciplines, and external participants. During developing TCC, the author occupied a dual role as researcher and participant, working together with others in an artistic co-creative process. TCC drew on and developed the methods relating to Collaborative Autoethnography, Participatory Action Research and Artistic Research. This study presents AEC as a communal effort to build spaces for learning and experimentation. They are created through interaction and cooperation, based on social relations and the production of shared values. As such it can offer a counterbalance to the extensive individualisation, instrumentalization, and commodification of communities in higher art education. The article formulates some recommendations on how AEC can reconnect the education of artists and designers with the role of the arts in wider technological, societal, and political contexts.
