This blog is created by undergraduate students enrolled in the “Culture and Care,” an anthropology module offered at Oxford Brookes University. Throughout the course of the module we discuss the role of care in the emergence of modern human development and society, its practice and experience across different cultural contexts, and the impact of care in our everyday lives (For a complete syllabus Module_Handbook_CC2017. ).
While 21st century technological and social transformations introduce new questions about the way humans care for each other, in many ways, we are still concerned with the same issues that have inspired anthropology since its beginnings. How do people get along and cooperate with one another? Why is there conflict, and how is it resolved? What happens to dependent members of a group? What responsibilities do families have to one another and how is a sense of belonging and identity maintained over generations? How does social change happen?
One of the most well-known anthropologists of the 20th century, Margaret Mead (pictured) famously stated
“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For indeed that’s all who ever have. ”
In their own small way, this class and these posts represent the work of a “few caring people”
As a final project, each student must write a post for this blog. These posts will remain long after the marks are tallied, and the students have graduated and moved on. Each year will contribute more posts, drawing on inspiration from those who came before. In the end, we hope to amass a diverse body of work that demonstrates how care impacts real world issues from infertility to climate change, migration to end of life care.
If you like something you read, I encourage you to leave a comment, repost through social media, and cite the author in your own work.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The opinions expressed in each post are personal and do not reflect the views of Oxford Brookes University, the Department of Social Sciences, or any member of their staff. Every effort has been made to preserve the student’s work, and apart from minor copy-editing, no changes have been made. Please remember that these are students and not experts or researchers. We applaud their efforts to tackle immense and important subjects, and we appreciate any constructive feedback, but please be considerate in your comments. Thank you.
culture and care 