Rethinking and remaking “the social”: co-production, critical pedagogy, and mental health among university students in the USA

ABSTRACT

This paper presents findings from a qualitative study exploring how students at a university in the southern USA conceptualize, theorize, and attempt to influence the role ‘social factors’ play in mental illness and well-being. Drawing on models of research co-production and principles of critical pedagogy, a group of 10 university students (‘student researchers’) worked with a faculty member to develop and conduct the study. The results highlight three ways in which the student interviewees (‘student interlocutors’) theorize ‘the social’. The first two – (1) via the ‘social determinants of health’ and (2) by means of theories on ‘neoliberal subjectivity’ – provide a powerful frame for interrogating hierarchical systems of power. However, because neither of these corresponds to our interest in producing knowledge for social change, we used prefigurative and speculative approaches to explore a third notion of the social, that of (3) ‘world-making practices’. We conclude by reflecting on the relevance of this project for educators, learners, and researchers seeking to deepen knowledge and theories of the social in mental health. We argue that co-produced research that draws from principles of critical pedagogy can enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and lead to more nuanced, transformative, and innovative analyses.

KEYWORDS:

• Social context of mental health
• co-production
• critical pedagogy
• student mental health

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the other student researchers who participated in early phases of this research: Katherine Carlsen, Andriana Johnson, Francis Lee, Victoria Mityul, Payton Robinette, and Michael West. This project would not have been possible without your insights and enthusiasm. We are also grateful to comments provided by members of faculty at the Department of Medicine, Health, and Society seminar series. Finally, many thanks for inspiring comments from Eileen Anderson, Eugene Raikhel, and Junko Kitanaka provided during a panel at the Society for Psychological Anthropology, organized by Eugene Raikhel and Junko Kitanaka.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. We use the term ‘interlocutor’ rather than ‘study participants’ to emphasize the collaborative and always-situated nature of knowledge creation in qualitative, open-ended research (Simpson, 2011).

2. Using open-ended methods, interlocutors were asked to self-identify in terms of gender, ethnicity, and race: 27 identified as women, 6 as men; 22 as non-white or persons of color, 11 as white, and 12 as international students, 10 of whom identified as non-white; and nine students were either first- or second-generation university attendees. While interlocutors were not explicitly asked about their mental health, approximately half of them reported having sought psychological help during their studies, either on or off campus.

3. These additional questions were used with 25 of our 33 interlocutors.

4. 11 of our 33 interlocutors answered these questions.

5. Students leading this movement are pressuring the university administration to rename Calhoun Hall, named after William Henry Calhoun (1815–1865), a Nashville silversmith and jeweler, who supported the Confederate States of America and owned slaves (Fink, 2019).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.