SOC 380
Who Cares? Spring 2025
Division II Difference, Power, and Equity

What does it mean to care–about a person, a situation, or a cause? We often assume that care arises spontaneously and organically. Yet both feelings of care and acts of care always take shape in social contexts. In this course, we will uncover and critically interrogate the norms surrounding caring, caregiving, and care-receiving in our own communities. What social factors influence our willingness to offer care, and to accept it from others? Why is caregiving so heavily gendered and racialized? Is care inevitably corrupted by capitalism? Specific topics will include domestic work and reproductive labor; parenthood; therapy and mental health care; the discourse of self-care; and social movements that center around enacting care. The course will culminate in a significant experiential learning component: as a class, we will work collaboratively to design and implement a project that pushes or challenges the “care norms” in the northern Berkshires.