In this session, we take the general theme of the conference and turn it upside down. Instead of asking how care is transformed in the current European societies, we ask how care transforms these societies. By care we refer to a wide range of ethical-practical responses to the inevitable human vulnerability and neediness in the different phases of life course and in the different scales of the society. The ways and the extent to which care needs are met by the state and by other actors, transform the society, its structures, and human agency in ways that have significant consequences for the well-being of those in the frontlines of care, such as old people in need of care, care workers and informal carers.
Already in the early days of care research, care emerged as a concept through which to engage ethically, critically and innovatively with the world we live in. Drawing from this legacy, we understand care as a resource for innovative policies, research and thinking, instead of understanding care solely as a societal expense. We insist that whilst economic pressures to the welfare state and care policy need to be taken seriously, economic targets should not overrule the quest for safe and socially sustainable care. If the transformative power of care is dismissed in care policies, there is a danger that we find increasing inequality, neglect, and abuse instead of, or entangled, with care.
We invite papers that empirically, theoretically or methodologically contribute to this question. We are interested in papers that ask, for example, how such phenomena as marketization, robotics or personalization of services answer to the expanding care needs, and vice versa, how care shapes and affects welfare mix, housing, intergenerational exchange, ICT, and overall everyday lives and (human) agencies.
Stream convenors
Olli Karsio, University of Tampere, olli.karsio@uta.fi
Liina Sointu, University of Tampere, liina.sointu@uta.fi