Introduction to Occupation

Book excerpt: For courses in Occupational Science, Sociology of Work, Social Anthropology, and Occupational Psychology. Broad in perspective, this text challenges students to look beyond occupation as just "work" to include all the ways in which we occupy ourselves showing how what we do forms our lifestyle, and how occupations are enfolded to create a balanced or unbalanced style of life. Practical as well as conceptual, it explores both informal and formal ways for studying occupation, provides a model and framework for studying occupational development across the lifespan, and considers issues and insights surrounding such topics as occupation and identity, occupation and place, occupation and groups and communities, occupation deprivation and disruption, and occupation and justice.