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Ungrievable Lives

Racism, Risk and Responsibility in Neoliberal Societies

Ungrievable Lives cover

Ungrievable Lives

Racism, Risk and Responsibility in Neoliberal Societies

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Pre-order. Available Jun 25 2026
$32.76 RRP $40.95 Website price saving $8.19 (20%)

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Description

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the resurgence of Black Lives Matter (BLM) following the death of George Floyd, brought into stark clarity what scholars and activists have long argued – that when it comes to matters of sickness, health, life and death, some lives matter more than others.
In this original and much-needed exploration of attitudes towards (un)grievable lives, Spratt extends Judith Butler's theory of grievability to examine contemporary debates about blame, risk, death and dying in the context of racial disparities in health and mortality. Drawing on contemporary examples – from immigration policy and prison reform to medical ethics, health behaviours, and the denial of citizenship – Spratt reveals how neoliberal systems and attitudes produce hierarchies of human value. In doing so, she argues that racist, sexist and classist ideas about risk and vulnerability shape whose lives are protected and whose deaths are mourned, rendering some losses publicly grievable while others pass with little recognition.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface: A Note to the Reader
Introduction: Conceptualising grievable life
Conceptualising public responses to 'poor health behaviours:' Trauma,
shame and 'obesity' in Roxane Gay's Hunger: A Memoir of (my) Body
Ungrievability and mass incarceration: The tragic death of Kalief Browder
Understanding Black lives as grievable Lives: Black Lives Matter and the
killing of George Floyd
Ungrievability unveiled: 'jihadi brides' and the case of Shamima Begum
Child death, visual consumption, and grievability politics: Remembering
Alan Kurdi
Conclusion: Imagining grievable futures
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published Jun 25 2026
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 152
ISBN 9781350400825
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Tanisha Spratt

Tanisha Spratt is a Senior Lecturer in Racism and…

Author

Tanisha Spratt

Tanisha Spratt is a Senior Lecturer in Racism and…

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