Care is often invisible and undervalued, whether performed for free within the family or friend circles, or as waged work. The COVID-19 pandemic has made care more visible and sparked conversations about care. Yet, we (at least in Ontario) have not responded to multiple care crises by implementing widespread structural change needed to put care at the center of political, societal, and economic systems. Choosing texts I pitched an Ethics of Care seminar to my department in late 2019, and it … [Read more...]
Forgiving as harm reduction
“You have to eat and keep going. Eating is a small, good thing in a time like this.” (Raymond Carver, A Small, Good Thing) Maybe reading is also a small, good thing? I am finally back in the swing of reading for pleasure and, as a treat to myself, I re-read for the umpteenth time Raymond Carver’s short story, “A Small, Good Thing.” The story appears to be about a couple as they try to deal with the aftermath of their son being hit by a car. But I think the story is really about the human … [Read more...]
A love language
In a previous post, Katy pondered what love might have to do with visiting other worlds. She partly landed on love as a way of preventing us from objectifying the other, to engage with others respectfully. I want to take that a little further. Katy admits that she is uncomfortable with the idea of love in politics. But I think love can be a kind of language that allows us to start thinking about politics. Visiting According to Hannah Arendt, visiting is the process of expanding our … [Read more...]
Addiction, isolation, and the fate of one city
The city of Cambridge, ON Cambridge, ON is a small city. I have mistakenly referred to it as a town, only to be reprimanded by those who were born and raised here (I have only lived in Cambridge a few years). In fact, the city of Cambridge is Waterloo Region’s second largest community and home to just under 130,000 people. Despite the unanimous belief that Cambridge is indeed a city and not a town, however, Cambridge is internally quite divided. There are three distinct neighbourhoods: … [Read more...]
Home & Belonging: The Authors of “At Home with Arendt”
What does home mean? Is it related to a sense of belonging? What, if any, is the connection between the two? And who are we? Whose thoughts are you reading? This blog is written by 4 different scholars: Dr. Rita A. Gardiner, Dr. Katy Fulfer, Harshita Jaiprakash, and Janet Jones. We are a diverse group of scholars. Some of us are interested in bioethics, some in feminist theories, some in education, and some in drug addiction. But we are all intrigued by Hannah Arendt. During the past … [Read more...]