Care-full Collectives and their Care Practices

Abstract

In my dissertation, I examine different collectives and their practices through different applied theories of care and theorize on new organizational structures and rituals. This is a study of how people came together during the first wave of Covid-19, myself included. It studies these coming-togethers through different "do-ings" and "be--ings" and juxtaposes them with different theories of care. Theories that include Annemarie Mol's "Logic of Care", Ella Myers' "Worldly things", Jenna Grant's "Repair as Care", Sara Ahmed's "Fragile Connections" and Lucy Suchman's "Relocating Innovation". These different theories come from places like medical anthropology, STS, queer theory, and more. I give an honest account of my journey through these collectives and these theories. I also start to propose an alternate way of organizing institutions for mutual aid through two tools - archetypes and axioms.