Revolutionary Care with Maurice Hamington
Channel: Mechanics' Institute
Date: 2024-03-19

Dive into a thought-provoking discussion as we pore over the pages of Revolutionary Care: Commitment and Ethos. Professor and Author Maurice Hamington will share his insights into how care, as a theory and as an embodied phenomenon, can transform the world by enacting care that reaches across difference.

This event was moderated by Nico Chen, and was recorded on Zoom on Saturday, March 16 at 1:00 pm (PT).

About the Book

Written by one of the world’s most respected care scholars, Revolutionary Care: Commitment and Ethos provides original theoretical insights and novel applications to offer a comprehensive approach to care as personal, political, and revolutionary. The text has nine chapters divided into two major sections. Section 1, "Thinking About Better Care," offers four theoretical chapters that reinforce the primacy of care as a moral ideal worthy of widespread commitment across ideological and cultural differences. Unlike other moral approaches, care is framed as a process morality and provides a general trajectory that can only determine the best course of action in the moment/context of need. Section 2, "Invitations and Provocations: Imagining Transformative Possibilities," employs four case studies on toxic masculinity, socialism and care economy, humanism and posthumanism, pacifism, and veganism to demonstrate the radical and revolutionary nature of care. Exploring the thinking and writing of many disciplines, including authors of color, queer scholars, and indigenous thinkers, this book is an exciting and cutting-edge contribution to care ethics scholarship as well as a useful teaching resource.

About the Author

Maurice Hamington is Professor of Philosophy and Affiliate Faculty of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Portland State University. He writes about the theory and application of feminist care ethics. His latest book, Revolutionary Care: Commitment and Ethos (2024), argues that we need a care revolution right now, and you can participate. He is also the author of Care Ethics and Poetry (2019), written with Ce Rosenow, The Social Philosophy of Jane Addams (2009), Embodied Care (2004), and Hail Mary? The Struggle for Ultimate Womanhood in Catholicism (1995). Hamington edited Feminism and Hospitality: Gender in the Host/Guest Relationship (2010) and has co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Jane Addams (2023), Care Ethics, Religion, and Spiritual Traditions (2022), Care Ethics in the Age of Precarity (2021), Care Ethics and Political Theory, (2015), Applying Care Ethics to Business (2011), and Socializing Care (2006).

Hamington holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oregon and, a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics, and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California. He is currently working as a consultant for two major grants in the U.K. on care ethics and aesthetics. He is a Fulbright Specialist who will spend November of this year in Kyoto working with Japanese feminist care ethicists. For more information on his scholarly activities, see mhamington.com

About This Programmatic Series

Teacher Tea at Mechanics' Institute, launched in January 2024, is an ongoing series offering a dynamic platform for educators to engage and grow professionally. Onsite sessions provide a physical space for teachers to participate in hands-on activities while interacting directly with thought leaders in education. Simultaneously, the program extends its reach both nationally and globally through Zoom sessions, featuring a diverse array of authors from various locations. These sessions are more than just discussions; they are a source of inspiration and learning, particularly emphasizing the humanization of education—a critical and evolving aspect in contemporary teaching methodologies. Teacher Tea is a community where educators come together to share insights, challenges, and successes, all aimed at enriching the educational experience for both teachers and students. Mechanics' Institute, through this initiative, underscores its commitment to supporting educators and contributing to the ongoing discourse on innovative and empathetic educational practices.