Introduction to "Making social justice the foundation of public health: Gaining ground and confronting co-optation -- critical perspectives from public health history, theory, pedagogy, and practice"

The theme of the APHA 2010 138th annual meeting (“Social Justice: Public Health Imperative”) is central to the Spirit of 1848's mission – and we believe it imperative that there be a sharp, critical focus on what it means to link issues of social justice and public health. Panelists in our “integrative” session on “Making social justice the foundation of public health: gaining ground and confronting co-optation -- critical perspectives from public health history, theory, pedagogy, and practice” will discuss these topics in relation to the 3 foci of our Spirit of 1848 Caucus: the social history of public health, the politics of public health data, and progressive pedagogy for public health. Motivating our session is that, as we begin to see the “mainstreaming” of work regarding the “social determinants of health,” we are also seeing a dilution of the politics involved. Although it certainly is better to have work in this area move into the mainstream (and potentially encounter backlash) rather than be ignored, we need to think critically about the impact of “mainstreaming” on the ideas, work, and efforts to rectify health inequities. At issue is recognizing both the positive aspects of gaining influence AND potential problems due to likelihood – if not inevitability – of cooptation by institutions (e.g., government, private for-profit, private non-profit) that prefer (and benefit from) – or are fearful of challenging – the political and economic status quo. A commitment to social change requires no less.