“Dangerous conversations”: a case study involving language

Purpose – Drawing on the approach of Bourdieu (1977, 1986), and using language as an exemplar, the purpose of this paper is to engage in a “dangerous conversation” to explore how and why issues of diversity were mobilised, ignored and leveraged in one particular service context. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research exploring the language choices of 25 service users who had been processed through the criminal Justice System in Wales in the last five years. Findings – The argument is made that in some service contexts, a habitus obtains that renders reflexivity about diversity issues problematic and predicates against the critical reflection necessary to promote anti-oppressive practice. Research limitations/implications – Small sample size, not generalisable. Practical implications – The authors intend the paper to encourage greater reflection on instances when diversity issues are raised and to render simplistic any attempt to invalidate claims of discrimination. Social implications – Encour...