Care-Work

Care is a notion that is used in various disciplines: social work, sociology, anthropology, educational and political sciences, as well as in gender studies and childhood studies, the latter being the focus of the following entry. According to the well-known definition provided by Joan Tronto, caring includes all that one does to “maintain, continue, and repair” one’s world which includes “our bodies, ourselves, and our environment.” As care fosters an ongoing process of maintenance and development of fellow humans, it tends to be looked at from the perspective of the cared for, while failing to focus on the time and effort devoted to it by care providers. As a matter of fact, care becomes particularly conspicuous when it is lacking and thus directly or indirectly ...