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Living on the Margins: Producing ‘Evidence’ with ‘Feral’ Drug Users

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Neoliberalization, Universities and the Public Intellectual

Part of the book series: Palgrave Critical University Studies ((PCU))

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Abstract

Living on the margins is the theme of this fifth chapter. We extend out from universities to consider research done with those who dwell at the margins; research that by being oriented toward critical commentary on the way marginalized and/or oppressed groups and individuals are treated is itself considered marginal. For these same reasons, it also has the potential to be an embedded challenge to hegemonic tropes instituted by neoliberal discourse not least because research such as this deliberately aims to examine the impact of neoliberalism and associated austerity measures in public health and welfare. We focus on those whose marginality can be extreme, those who are stigmatized, discriminated against, and reviled, people considered deviant and likened to feral animals, through their class positioning and their experience of chronic poverty, violence, and illicit drug use. Our discussion is underpinned by data produced from a qualitative study called the Helping Alliances Project (Fraser et al. [The Stages of Change Model and the Use of Therapeutic Alliances in worker–client interactions at DASSA’s Northern and Western Clinics, 2011]), and from more recent desk research relating to the introduction of welfare austerity measures in Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Heather Fraser & Nik Taylor

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  1. Heather Fraser
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  2. Nik Taylor
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Fraser, H., Taylor, N. (2016). Living on the Margins: Producing ‘Evidence’ with ‘Feral’ Drug Users. In: Neoliberalization, Universities and the Public Intellectual. Palgrave Critical University Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57909-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57909-6_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-57908-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-57909-6

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