Care Anthropology / Anthropology of Caring

Tackling TB Imagine it is 1955. You are a government official in Ottawa. Tuberculosis is devastating the Inuit population, and you have been told to bring the epidemic under control. Here are some challenges: Inuit live across an enormous, remote area, often moving between camps. There are very few hospitals in the Arctic. Doctors generally don't speak Inuktitut. Inuit names can change and people don't necessarily have surnames, making it difficult to keep track of patients. Housing is often crowded, which helps TB spread. You have limited money and staff. Come up with five practical things the Canadian government should do. Think about: How will you identify people? How will you find and regularly test them? Where will people with TB be treated? Could you change where/how people live to make healthcare easier to provide? How will you know whether your policies are working? Governmentality To analyse our responses, let's build a deeper understanding of governmentality...

Welcome to Module 10 of Transforming Lives through Care , a first-year Anthropology subject at La Trobe University.  In this module, we anlayse welfare and care in terms of governmentality . The basic idea is that modern systems of care though non-violent, actually create greater control over the population. This is not overtly violent but it is more effective. 🎯 Learning Goals By the end of this week, you should be able to: explain the idea of  governmentality use  governmentality  to analyse caring practices  critique the idea of  governmentality 🚦  Introduction Governmentality is a mentality. Most people are unaware that they have this mentality. Although this mentality has only emerged in Europe's modern period, it seems to us to normal and natural. We think that governments should help people live long and happy lives. To achieve this we expect governments not to control us but to take  care   for of us. We, in turn, make ourselves g...