Doing Dignity: Ethical Praxis and the Politics of Care

Explores human dignity and care in the face of disease and disability.

Complex contemporary experiences with disease, death, and disability in the United States have made the concept of human dignity seem outdated. In Doing Dignity: Ethical Praxis and the Politics of Care, Christa Teston challenges conventional notions of dignity and, based on analyses of clinical observations, interviews, and focus groups, encourages a new understanding of care.

This thought-provoking book presents a practice-based approach to human dignity through three compelling case studies: US health care professionals’ COVID-19 caretaking experiences, legislative debates about medical aid in dying, and clinical interactions between wheelchair users and health care professionals. Teston demonstrates how dignity is not an abstract idea but rather is a set of practices embedded in the politics and complexities of care. Drawing from feminist care ethics, rhetorical theory, disability studies, and critical Black studies, Doing Dignity offers a fresh perspective on the moral underpinnings of modern-day medicine. Teston explores how health care professionals enact dignity despite the challenges of market-based medicine, the commodification of care, and shifting societal discourse on disease, dying, and disability.

This book transcends philosophical debates and provides practical insights for both patients and practitioners. Without falling into sentimentality or hopelessness, Doing Dignity honors human vulnerability while revealing how situational factors influence the practice of dignified care.

Christa Teston (COLUMBUS, OH) is the Andrea Lunsford Designated Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy in the Department of English at Ohio State University. She is the author of Bodies in Flux: Scientific Methods for Negotiating Medical Uncertainty.