SocProf reviewed Bandage, Sort, and Hustle by Josh Seim
Review of 'Bandage, Sort, and Hustle' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
2020 stinks but it seems a good year for sociological ethnography (see my review of Forrest Stuart's Ballad of the Bullet). Here comes another great one by Josh Seim, focusing on the labor process of ambulance crews. The book is a highly readable account of the work of EMT / paramedic crews, embedded in both internal labor processes, horizontal relations with police and hospitals, as well as vertical relations between the bureaucratic county regulations, and the capitalist logic of the for-profit company that employs the ambulance crews.
Because the book is so readable, it is highly appropriate for undergraduate audiences. It also includes a fairly detailed methodological appendix (the author did A LOT to become an EMT and conduct his sociological work while being employed part-time in that function). IT will give sociology majors and non-majors an interesting introduction to the work and craft of the sociologist.
Highly recommended.
2020 stinks but it seems a good year for sociological ethnography (see my review of Forrest Stuart's Ballad of the Bullet). Here comes another great one by Josh Seim, focusing on the labor process of ambulance crews. The book is a highly readable account of the work of EMT / paramedic crews, embedded in both internal labor processes, horizontal relations with police and hospitals, as well as vertical relations between the bureaucratic county regulations, and the capitalist logic of the for-profit company that employs the ambulance crews.
Because the book is so readable, it is highly appropriate for undergraduate audiences. It also includes a fairly detailed methodological appendix (the author did A LOT to become an EMT and conduct his sociological work while being employed part-time in that function). IT will give sociology majors and non-majors an interesting introduction to the work and craft of the sociologist.
Highly recommended.