Critical nursing scholarship: Exploring critical social theory with African American studies

There is a need for nursing research that applies ideas gained from critical nursing scholarship, yet attends to the historical, cultural, and social context of clients analyzed through those frameworks. The revision of critical nursing scholarship to address multicultural perspectives on critical thought will significantly transform nursing knowledge development. This article first provides overviews about critical nursing scholarship and critical social theory. It then explores the union of critical social theory and African American studies. Ideas gained from the combination of critical social theory and African American studies are incorporated subsequently in discussions about the role of theory in representations of social identity, in the development of knowledge, and in the development of nursing research.