‘Ecologies of care’, health and despair in the Covid-19 pandemic age: the care manifesto
This event took place on 4 June 2021
In the current context of the gender and health inequalities exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the debate around care provision and how this is being carried has begun to take central stage. What has been the impact of government approach to “care” as a result of austerity policies? And how can we understand these “ecologies of care” and discursive practices, considering their different political and cultural uses? How can we make sense of everyday acts of mutual aid, in contrast to the manipulation and use of care rhetoric by governments or by corporations attempting to brand themselves as “caring”? How have media narratives, such as TV fiction, explored the “crises of care” rhetoric in their representations of care workers in the NHS?
These discussions are explored in the webinar event, 'Ecologies of care’, health and despair in the Covid-19 pandemic age, through presentations delivered by Professor Beverly Skeggs (Lancaster University); Dr. Hannah Hamad (Cardiff University); Dr. Jamie Hakim (Kings College London) and Professor Jo Littler (City, University of London), top scholars in the fields of Gender and Sociology.
Sponsored by: Gender and Communciation Section
Chair: Dr. Carolina Matos (City, University of London), co-chair of the GEN section.
Bio: Matos is senior lecturer in Media and Sociology and PD of the MAs in Media and Communications and International Communications and Development in the Department of Sociology, City, University of London. Her research is in the field of media, gender and international development and she is the author of three books, various journal articles and book chapters. Early results of her GCRF funded research project, Gender, health communications and online activism in the digital age, have recently been published in the online edition of the Feminist Media Studies journal.
Description: The format will consist of a brief introduction by the chair, followed by the presentations of the speakers (10-15 mins each) and then a final round Q&A discussion of 30 mins (see 6 and 10 below). The aim is to encourage discussion and debate with the sections’ members, as well as with others from the IAMCR working groups, on the current research of staff from the Gender and Sexualities Research at City and other UK academics on gender and health inequalities and care in the Covid-19 age. This event has also been thought of as being a part of a series of talks and workshops around the Care Manifesto, following from the launch of the book in August 2020, The Care Manifesto – The Politics of Interdependence by The Care Collective, authors Jamie Hakim, Andreas Chatzidakis, Jo Littler and Catherine Rottenberg (see https://www.versobooks.com/books/3706-care-manifesto).
Presentations and Speakers:
1. The necroeconomics of care – Professor Beverly Skeggs (Lancaster University)
Bio: Beverly Skeggs is one of the foremost feminist sociologists in the world. Her book Formations of Class and Gender (1997) has been profoundly significant in drawing attention to the intersections between class and gender inequalities as experienced by working class young women dealing with the vulnerabilities of daily life in harsh conditions. Bev has been head of two of the UK’s leading Sociology departments at Manchester and Goldsmiths and has been credited with transforming Britain’s oldest Sociology journal, the Sociological Review.
2. Care and despair – Dr. Jamie Hakim (King’s College London) and Professor Jo Littler (City, University of London) from The Care Collective
Bio: Dr Jamie Hakim is a now Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries at Kings College London, UK. He is Principal Investigator of the ESRC-funded project 'Digital Intimacies’, partnered with the Terrance Higgins Trust, and author of Work That Body: Male Bodies in Digital Culture (2019). He is part of the Care Collective and co-author of The Care Manifesto (2020). @hakimjamie
Bio: Jo Littler is a Professor in the Sociology Department and the Gender and Sexualities Research Centre at City, University of London, UK. Her books include Against Meritocracy (2018) Radical Consumption? (2008) and with Roshi Naidoo The Politics of Heritage: The legacies of ‘race’' (2005). She is part of the Care Collective and co-author of The Care Manifesto (2020). @littler_jo
3. Recuperating Care Work in Television Fictions of Nurses and Nursing – Dr. Hannah Hamad (Cardiff University)
Bio: Dr Hannah Hamad is Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication at Cardiff University, School of Journalism, Media and Culture and the author of Postfeminism and Paternity in Contemporary US Film: Framing Fatherhood (New York and London: Routledge, 2014). Her second book Film, Feminism and Rape Culture in the Yorkshire Ripper Years is forthcoming from BFI Publishing (2023).
Who can participate: The webinar is free for all IAMCR members but space is limited.
Date & time: 04 June 2021 – 12h00 UTC / 08h00 New York / 13h00 London (BST) / 14h00 Paris / 15h00 Nairobi / 17h30 Kolkata / 20h00 Beijing
Location: The meeting will take place on Zoom.
Webinars are free for all IAMCR members but space is restricted, so pre-registration is required. A limited number of guests invitations may be available before the events.
About the series: The IAMCR Webinar Series aims to open channels for engagement and participation in addition to the association's annual conference, keeping IAMCR members connected and engaged with regular dialogue about issues of importance to the international media and communication research community. Join us!