Care Anthropology / Anthropology of Caring

 Welcome to Module 9 of Transforming Lives through Care. This is part of a course in the Anthropology of Care at La Trobe University. In earlier modules, we focused on care in informal settings (such as the home and family) and through informal mechanisms (such as kinship , ritual and reciprocity ). In this and the following modules, we shift our attention to professional care in formal settings. It is 'professional' because carers are trained, follow recognised standards and are paid for their work. And it is 'formal' because the care is organised through institutions such as hospitals, aged-care facilities, government agencies and private organisations, rather than being provided through family or community relationships alone. What is the difference? Consider this story from Aya Yasutake's book on caring for dementia patients in Japan. A woman explained to Yasutake:  If my dad has dementia, I can't tell him he needs to go to an aged Home. I have to ask the ...

 Welcome to our Module entitled Migration: Global Care Chains.  So far, we have examined how care creates kinship, circulates through gifts and reciprocity, and contributes to social reproduction. This week, we expand our perspective beyond individual households and communities. We ask what happens when care crosses national borders—and when one family’s solution to its care needs creates a care gap elsewhere. 🎯 Learning Goals By the end of this module, you should be able to:  define " migration " and  "global care chain ";  trace how paid and unpaid care are connected across households and countries;  explain how migration can be an act of care while also producing separation and loss;  apply the concepts of " remittances ", " reciprocity ", " social reproduction "   and care as a " commodity " to migrant care work;   identify how " gender ", " race ", " class " and " global inequality ...

Welcome to the module "Embodiment: Care & the Body" in the subject Transforming Lives through Care !  In previous modules, we have considered care through angles of society & culture , kinship , the Gift , social reproduction, gender, and more-than-human . Now we turn our attention to our bodies through the concept of embodiment . The idea is that our bodies are cultural bodies. Culture shapes the way our bodies move and care. 🎯 Learning Goals Understand how care is lived and experienced through the body. Explore the anthropological concept of embodiment as a way of analysing care. Recognise how routine bodily practices—rather than abstract feelings—can express deep commitments to others. 🚦 Introduction: Embodiment Caring is always embodied. When I cuddle a crying baby, two bodies are involved. This may seem obvious, but what happens when we take that fact seriously? What if, inste...

 To extend your understanding of social reproduction and care, focus on this passage from Thelen. Thelen (2015, pp. 501–502) traces how theories of care have changed. As you read, notice that each new approach identifies something that the previous approach missed. Thelen begins with the Marxist and feminist theories of social reproduction that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s.  Central to early Marxist and feminist approaches was an understanding of unpaid care as the downside of public production, as the capitalist necessity of cheap reproduction of new labour. For example, Claude Meillassoux, included nutrition and subsistence in times of sickness and unemployment as well as raising children  in his reflections. Similarly for Maria Mies and Claudia von Werlhof the alimentation [providing food and nourishment] of husbands and the education of children are  subsumed under their concept of subsistence production. These studies essentially conceptualized care as dome...

Making pasta You make pasta bolognese for yourself, family and friends. at home. It tastes great. They slurped it all up. You feel a great sense of satisfaction.  Next day, you work at a cafe making pasta. Boss pays you $25/hour. Your boss takes that pasta, sells it for $90. After other expenses, your boss makes a tidy profit of $40 an hour from your labour. In this scenario: That $40 profit your boss made is called ... You don't feel as satisfied making that pasta for the boss as you did for yourself, your friends and family. Maybe it's because you don't have the same level of control over or connection to it. This is what Marx calls...  Your boss's profit is based on the ... of your labour. You, your boss, and the customers are part of the ... All the concepts are interconnected, but which of the following matches best with 1-4? capitalist system exploitation alienation surplus value Sorry if the above was difficult--the conc...

Welcome to our module on Social Reproduction. This is part of Transforming Lives through Care, an Anthropology subject at La Trobe University. In the first half this course we've been looking at how care operates in informal settings including within the family or friendship groups and even with animals.  Now we're going to examine one of the most influential—and provocative—critiques of care under capitalism. Silvia Federici argues that many activities we think of as "care" are also forms of labour that are essential to keeping capitalist society running. Strathern, shows that these ideas may not apply to other cultures, and at the same time, presents the most most profound challenge--in my experience at least--to the what it means to be 'me'.   🎯 Learning Goals By the end of this module, you should be able to: Define social reproduction . Explain Federici's critique of ...

Overview: More-than-human care In the exercise you explore one of anthropology's biggest questions about care: who receives care, and why? You will encounter people who treat pigs, goats, dogs, animals, spirits, and even some humans in unexpected ways. Rather than judging these practices, anthropologists try to understand the cultural beliefs, relationships, and circumstances that shape them. Try to think about the examples using concepts we've already encountered, particularly: Culture: How do different societies understand care? Kinship: Who is treated as family?  The Gift: Is the care reciprocal? Case Study 1: Pigs as Kin in Vanuatu Based on Margaret Jolly, "Pig Love" In Vanuatu, pigs are not just livestock. They are kin—named, raised with affection, and even suckled by human women. “In some places a woman’s relation to her pigs becomes frankly maternal... including lactating women suckling piglets.” Jolly describes this emotional and  embodied  intimacy as part ...