Prentice, Rebecca and Trueba, Mei (2018) Precarious bodies: occupational risk assemblages in Bolivia and Trinidad. Global Labour Journal, 9 (1). pp. 41-56. ISSN 1918-6711

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Abstract

This article develops a concept of “precarious bodies” to theorise the lived experience of labour precariousness in the 21st century and its implications for workers’ health, wellbeing and household reproduction. Drawing on ethnographic research with Bolivian miners and Trinidadian garment workers, we explore the relationship between workers’ exposure to global market forces and their everyday experiences of work, health and risk in these industries. “Precarious bodies” is a heuristic that takes into a single frame the macro-level economic and regulatory processes that create risks for workers, and the various ways in which workers negotiate these risks through their work practices and livelihood choices. We show precarious bodies to be both vulnerable and strategic. Positioned in situations of exploitation and risk, their choices to protect their livelihoods can harm their health and reinforce—rather than counteract—the precarious circumstances of their households.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	precarious bodies, occupational risk assemblage, health and safety, Bolivia, Trinidad
Schools and Departments:	Brighton and Sussex Medical School > Global Health and Infection
Depositing User:	Rebecca Prentice
Date Deposited:	14 Dec 2017 17:07
Last Modified:	01 Jul 2019 16:45
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/71110

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