Synopses & Reviews
The Meaning of Care provides a multi-layered analysis and discussion of how we understand and construct care in everyday life; the meanings it has for ourselves, our families, our relationships, our identities, and our sense and understanding of society and what is right and proper. Bernhard Weicht investigates the meaning of care in society through a vast range of social science literature and two empirical case studies, carried out in Austria and the UK, using a critical discourse analysis approach to identify and discuss the moral construction of care and the way in which people understand and make sense of their experiences, histories and emotions. Thematically led-chapters on relationships, geographies of care, community, dependency, and care markets explore several aspects of the meaning of care in detail. This work makes an original contribution to the discussion of the nature of care ethics and its political potential.
Synopsis
Bernhard Weicht provides a multi-layered analysis of how we understand and construct care in everyday life, the meanings it has for ourselves, our families, our relationships, identities and our sense of society and what is right and proper, making an original contribution to the discussion of the nature of care ethics and its political potential.
About the Author
Bernhard Weicht is Lecturer at Leiden University College, The Netherlands. Bernhard has researched and published on the construction of care, ideas of dependency, migrant care workers, the intersection of migration and care regimes, and the construction of ageing and older people. He is vice-chair of the European Sociological Association Research Network 'Ageing in Europe'.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2.Who Should Care? The Construction of Caring Relationships
3. Where Should Care be Given and Received? The Geographies of Care
4. How Should Communities Care? Nostalgia and Longing for the Ideal
5. Who is Seen to be Care For? The Construction of the Care Receiver
6. Buying and Selling Care? The Intrusion of Markets and Bureaucracy
7. Epilogue
Bibliography