About

Gelya Frank is a Professor Emeritus of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and Anthropology at USC Dornsife. Her academic role involves contributions to these fields, integrating her expertise in occupational science, therapy, and anthropology. She is associated with the USC Dornsife faculty and staff, and her contact information includes her email gfrank@chan.usc.edu and office location CHP 133. Her work is part of a broader academic environment that emphasizes interdisciplinary research and education in the humanities, social sciences, and health sciences.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Psychology
• Medicine
• History
• Political science

Selected publications

• Creativity, Hope, and Collective Emancipatory Experimentation

  2024-08-30 · 4 citations

  book-chapterSenior author

  This chapter discusses a growing body of theoretical and practical work by occupational therapists interested in developing practices around social transformation. A corresponding interest is also developing around the concept of collective occupations. Our intended audience is students and entry-level professionals in occupational therapy who will most likely find themselves in mainly corporatized health care systems. The chapter introduces Occupational Reconstruction Theory to students and practitioners of occupational therapy. Occupational Reconstruction Theory grows out of interdisciplinary scholarship in occupational science, social anthropology, 20th-century pragmatism, narrative studies, social movement studies, and occupational therapy. The purpose of Occupational Reconstruction Theory is to identify the key underlying principles guiding social transformation practice in occupational therapy. The chapter also discusses why practitioners need some familiarity with philosophical frameworks of thought to justify changes they may wish to make to theory and practice, as well as to adequately evaluate and critique changes proposed or enacted by others. Finally, the chapter discusses the Occupational Reconstruction Theory, which identifies a set of elements that appear to be common among documented instances of transformative social action. It also discusses how an occupational therapist could use Occupational Reconstruction Theory as a practical framework for social transformation practice.

  PublisherDOI

• Occupational science’s stalled revolution and a manifesto for reconstruction

  Journal of Occupational Science · 2022-08-23 · 20 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  This publication develops a keynote presented at the 27th USC Chan Occupational Science Symposium, “Occupations disrupted: Pandemics and the reshaping of everyday life,” on November 5, 2021. I used the social theory of occupational reconstructions—shared problem-solving through narrative alignments and collective action—to reflect on occupational science’s progress since its founding 30 years ago. I argue that (1) the science of occupation has stalled in today’s neoliberal university; and that (2) ‘consequential questions’ must be formulated across the discipline to develop useful knowledge from different locations, positionalities, and contexts. A ‘consequential question,’ I propose, produces knowledge useful to solving problems of wide concern to the discipline, other disciplines, and the public; and sets up a scientific research program that progresses empirically and theoretically. I explain why the founders’ pragmatist framing of occupation as mind-body experience remains important to recent critiques of the discipline and its future advancement. Likewise, I explain how pragmatism can and must transact with various critical (Marxist, poststructuralist) philosophies and other (positivist, alternative) epistemologies regarding societal problems such as occupational justice, human rights, decolonization, political polarization, and the erosion of democracy. I suggest that federally funded biomedical research in the neoliberal university is not currently designed to advance a science of occupation, although it could if occupational scientists were to face the discipline’s contradictions under neoliberalism and reconstruct its common purpose.

  PublisherDOI

• Collaborating to Meet the Goals of a Native Sovereign Nation

  2020-05-19 · 3 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  This chapter discusses the conference “Working Anthropology in the Twenty-first Century,” organized by Les W. Field and Richard G. Fox and held at the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, New York City, on 19–22 May 2005. Anthropology’s core jurisdiction is the production of knowledge about culture. The first master’s-level program in occupational therapy was instituted in 1947 at the University of Southern California, providing a new platform for the academicizing of this mainly female profession. The profession drew from anthropology and other mainstream disciplines in the 1980s and 1990s to establish greater academic credibility and autonomy while developing its new, cutting-edge discipline, occupational science. A full-time staff of five graduate student fieldwork interns from the University of Southern California Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy quickly and effectively developed methods and protocols for the tribal history-making activities.

  PublisherDOI

• Candangos: teoria da reconstrução ocupacional como uma ferramenta para a compreensão de problemas sociais e ações transformativas na utópica cidade de Brasília

  Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional  · 2020-01-01 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access

  Resumo O ensino de uma agenda de transformação social nos cursos de terapia ocupacional nas universidades brasileiras é um projeto em andamento. Neste artigo: (1) introduzimos a teoria de Reconstrução Ocupacional; (2) contextualizamos a situação dos candangos – que são aqueles que construíram a utópica nova capital do Brasil, Brasília – com base na literatura; (3) descrevemos esforços para expandir a temática da inclusão social na Universidade de Brasília, Brasil; e (4) discutimos como a reconstrução ocupacional serviu de estrutura para o ensino, a pesquisa e a prática. A teoria de Reconstrução Ocupacional explica a transformação social como parte da filosofia e do conhecimento de base “ocupacional”. A teoria foi útil para orientar as experiências dos alunos e alcançar resultados de aprendizagem. Durante o curso, os alunos começaram a recontar suas próprias histórias, dialogando com seus familiares mais velhos para conhecer como os candangos lidavam com condições sociais problemáticas nos primeiros dias de Brasília. Eles foram desafiados a apresentar um caso de Reconstrução Ocupacional em forma de literatura de cordel – um livreto impresso de baixo custo; assim, movendo as histórias dos candangos para a esfera pública. O artigo conclui com uma reflexão crítica sobre as vantagens, limitações e possíveis aplicações futuras em currículos.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Occupational reconstructions: resources for social transformation in challenging times

  Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional  · 2020-01-01 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We are living in challenging times. Whether in the Global South or Global North, an alarming sweep of nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and racism threatens the health, wellbeing, rights and freedom of millions. The report Democracy in Retreat: Freedom in the World 2019 notes a steady decline over the past 13 years in measures of freedom and democracy throughout the world (Freedom House, 2019). The aggregate scores for Brazil (75/100) and the United States (86/100) lag behind countries mostly in northern and western Europe but also regionally-e.g. Uruguay (98/100) and Canada (99/100).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Meliorism and knowledge mobilization: Strategies for occupational science research and practice

  Journal of Occupational Science · 2020-09-30 · 13 citations

  article

  This article proposes that ‘meliorism’—a philosophical belief in people’s abilities to improve lived experience through engaged problem-solving—is a useful concept to describe and orient occupational science research, given the challenges of our time. This proposal derives from an intensive period of discussion through occupational science seminars, strategic planning sessions, and other activities at the University of Southern California’s Mrs. T. H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, including preparations for the 26th Occupational Science Symposium in 2019. While many disciplines and professions express a melioristic intent, we believe that occupational science and occupational therapy exemplify a particular understanding of meliorism, given the view of occupation that they share, as: 1) engaged activity that has meaning and purpose; and 2) a powerful tool that builds consciousness and practices that can promote desired change. We suggest that occupational scientists’ aim to develop impactful research manifests these conceptual foundations. Further, we argue that a commitment to meliorism requires concerted efforts to mobilize knowledge by intentionally planning for stakeholder engagement and societal impact across all phases of research. We suggest that active knowledge mobilization will enhance the knowledge base of occupational science and help to realize its meliorist potential in both research and practice contexts.

  PublisherDOI

• 12. Chronic Conditions, Health, and Well-Being in Global Contexts: Occupational Therapy in Conversation with Critical Medical Anthropology

  Rutgers University Press eBooks · 2019-12-31 · 4 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  12. Chronic Conditions, Health, and Well-Being in Global Contexts: Occupational Therapy in Conversation with Critical Medical Anthropology was published in Chronic Conditions, Fluid States on page 230.

  PublisherDOI

• Chronic Conditions, Fluid States

  Rutgers University Press eBooks · 2019-09-03 · 123 citations

  book

  Chronic Conditions, Fluid States explores the uneven impact of chronic illness and disability on individuals, families, and communities in diverse local and global settings. To date, much of the social as well as biomedical research has treated the experience of illness and the challenges of disease control and management as segmented and episodic. Breaking new ground in medical anthropology by challenging the chronic/acute divide in illness and disease, the editors, along with a group of rising scholars and some of the most influential minds in the field, address the concept of chronicity, an idea used to explain individual and local life-worlds, question public health discourse, and consider the relationship between health and the globalizing forces that shape it.

  PublisherDOI

• Integrating Musculoskeletal Sonography Into Rehabilitation

  OTJR Occupational Therapy Journal of Research · 2016-12-15 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Musculoskeletal sonography is rapidly extending beyond radiology; however, best practices for successful integration into new practice contexts are unknown. This study explored non-physician experiences with the processes of training and integration of musculoskeletal sonography into rehabilitation. Qualitative data were captured through multiple sources, and iterative thematic analysis was used to describe two occupational therapists' experiences. The dominant emerging theme was competency, in three domains: technical, procedural, and analytical. In addition, three practice considerations were illuminated: (a) understanding imaging within the dynamics of rehabilitation, (b) navigating nuances of interprofessional care, and (c) implications for post-professional training. Findings indicate that sonography training for rehabilitation providers requires multi-level competency development and consideration of practice complexities. These data lay a foundation on which to explore and develop best practices for incorporating sonographic imaging into the clinic as a means for engaging clients as active participants in the rehabilitation process to improve health and rehabilitation outcomes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Latino Families’ Experiences With Autism Services

  OTJR Occupational Therapy Journal of Research · 2016-09-01 · 33 citations

  article

  This article examines six cases of publicly funded Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for Latino children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to contribute to thinking about occupational justice. In this ethnographic study of six Latino families of children with ASD in Los Angeles County, all families were offered ABA for their children, but five families experienced occupational challenges leading them to insist on modifications of ABA or to opt out of the service. We consider in each case (a) how the families' experiences can be understood occupationally, (b) how ABA affected the functionings and capabilities of the children and their families, and (c) how the parents' accounts relate to occupational justice. Applying the capabilities approach can help operationalize the concept of occupational justice as a tool to evaluate social policy across cases.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Sheila T. Murphy

  6 shared

• Leslie Blackhall

  University of Virginia

  5 shared

• Stanley P. Azen

  5 shared

• Ruth Zemke

  University of Southern California

  5 shared

• Vicki Michel

  Loyola Marymount University

  4 shared

• Harry F. Wolcott

  4 shared

• Bernard Austin Kigunda Muriithi

  University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

  4 shared

• Vagner dos Santos

  Charles Sturt University

  4 shared

Education

• PhD, Department of Anthropology

  University of California, Los Angeles