My interest in care
My interest in care is both academic and personal. As a young mother many, many, years ago I was perplexed at how it was assumed that I miraculously obtained knowledge, skills, understanding and ability to care for a new-born baby, having had no experience of children up to then. Luckily for my daughter, I managed not to harm her too much (although she might have another opinion on that). I suppose that experience encapsulates dominant reductionist assumptions about care, its invisibility and undervaluation; all even more so for care recipients.
Later on, my interest in gendered relations led me to question care patterns and the gendered balancing of living and livelihoods; again questioning the common sense assumptions that serve to invisibilise the fundamental work involved on which our lives depend. My PhD thesis explored the intersections of these assumptions and gendered practices of combining diverse personal and employment commitments. During the course of my graduate studies, I attended a seminar in UCC at which I was introduced to feminist ethics of care. At this seminar Eva Kittay discussed her work on care and justice which then eventually led me to the rich literature and debates on the feminist ethic of care. Here I found the interrogation of reductionist notions of care and the centralising and humanising of care and caring relations inspiring.
However, the gap between the reality of lived experiences of caring relations and dynamics and achieving good care continues to be astounding. My involvement in supporting my mother through her final years where she lived with Alzheimers brought this gap to bear in a very real way. My mother, who was always at hand to be a voice and advocate for myself, my siblings, and others, when we were growing up and not well able to self-advocate, was now in a position where she was increasingly less able to independently speak and act for herself. Moving to a carer position automatically meant becoming an advocate to ensure that the label did not define the person and that we constructed care support that was based on relationality, dignity and recognition of the whole person. This was not an easy task in a resource-poor homecare support system; despite the many good and kind people we encountered, who worked this an under-resourced system.
My academic work on care continues through my research on several aspects of care that attempt to make visible the orientation and experiences of carers and care recipients within several different contexts. It also involves development and involvement in undergraduate and postgraduate seminars and modules, where I introduce students to more expansionist concepts of care, and explore associated themes with them, with these discussions drawing on my experiences. Being involved in CareVisions, I believe, offers an opportunity to delve deeper to understanding care, caring relationships and dynamics. Through investigation, research and critique of normalised assumptions it has the potential to help us move a step further in understanding the complexities of our lives, dilemmas and the contradictions encountered. I’m hopeful that its potential can be realised through the work we are now undertaking.
Dr. Jacqui O’Riordan, is a member of the CareVisions team and Co-Chair of the UCC Institute of Social Science in the 21st Century Care Cluster.