Care Anthropology / Anthropology of Caring

Structure & Agency  How did you get to class or work today?  If you drove, you:  (a) had a range of roads available to you.  (b) chose which route to take.  If you took public transport, you:  (a) had trains, buses, or trams running on particular routes and timetables.  (b) chose which service to catch.  If you travelled another way, explain:  (a) the physical and social arrangements that made your journey possible. (b) the choices you made within those arrangements.  In the examples above, does " structure " describe (a) or (b)? What about " agency "?   Anthropologists often distinguish between structure and agency .  "Structure" refers to the social, economic, political, and physical arrangements that shape what people can do. Structures create opportunities but also impose limits.  "Agency" refers to a person's capacity to make choices and act within those structures. We cannot act with complete freedom, but...

 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...

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 ...

Welcome to Module 5 of Transforming Lives through Care. This is part of a course in Anthropology at La Trobe University. In previous modules, we analysed care through the lens of: kinship (Module 2) the Gift (Module 3) gender (Module 4) Now that you’ve explored how care operates among humans you're ready to extend those insights beyond human relationships. This week, we ask what happens when care crosses species lines. How do we care for animals and how do they care for us?   🎯 Learning Goals By the end of this week, you should be able to: Analyse how care for animals expresses broader social, gendered, and spiritual dynamics Reflect on how ritual, emotion, and power are entwined in human-animal relations Compare the Melanesian "pig complex" with pet care in Australia and other industrialised societies Begin to de-centre Western ideas of “animal care” by engaging with ethnographic evidence 🚦  Introduction Care for 'animals' is a crucial part of many cultures. Th...