Explaining Collective Occupations from a Human Relations Perspective: Bridging the Individual-Collective Dichotomy

A core proposition in this paper is that central to occupations that individuals, groups, communities and societies engage in, is the intentionality behind them. While occupation as a construct has been explored in detail in both occupational science and occupational therapy literature, there has been insufficient attention paid to what drives collective human engagement. In addition, the recent emphasis on socio-cultural perspectives of occupation has not adequately addressed a persistent dichotomous view of the individual versus the collective. Humans, as part of context, have not been sufficiently fore-grounded. By introducing the notion of ‘intentionality’ in the explanation of occupation, and drawing from ubuntu, an African interactive ethic to demonstrate how collective occupations manifest on a continuum between oppressive and liberating relationships, this paper aims to bridge the individual-collective dichotomy in the conceptualization of human occupation. This teleological approach to occupation which highlights interconnectedness between the individual and the collective has the potential to lay the foundation for socially oriented occupational science research, as well as a social practice and scholarship of occupational therapy.