Oltre l’ambivalenza del “care”. Indicazioni analitiche sull’antropologia del prendersi cura
PDF

Come citare

Diodati, F. (2021). Oltre l’ambivalenza del “care”. Indicazioni analitiche sull’antropologia del prendersi cura. AM. Rivista Della Società Italiana Di Antropologia Medica, 22(51). Recuperato da https://www.amantropologiamedica.unipg.it/index.php/am/article/view/562

Abstract

Beyond the Ambivalence of “Care”: Analytical Considerations for the Anthropology of Caregiving

Numerous ambivalences, interpretative conflicts and cultural translation problems arise when we use the concept of “care”. For medical anthropology, it has offered the possibility of criticizing forms of bio-medical reductionism of treatment. The increase in chronic diseases for which there is no “cure” has contributed to the development of this moral vision. At the same time, informal care work has assumed strategic importance in the restructuring scenario of public healthcare services. In this sense, the moral vision of “caregiving” has been accused of diverting attention from the social inequalities that are reproduced in the home and family environment through care itself. Through the ethnographic account of a medical anthropology conference in Edinburgh, and a further reflection on a research among a community care service for the elderly and caregivers in Emilia-Romagna, this article offers some analytical considerations for the anthropology of caregiving. I argue that the distinction between “cure” and “care” does not fully reflect what is really at stake in care practices. To overcome the ambivalences that derive from the same moral language it adopts, the anthropology of caregiving needs to focus on the ways in which the relationship between care in the domestic sphere and the institutional system of healthcare services is classified. Otherwise, the risk is to lose sight of the question of how, under what circumstances and with what public support, care responsibilities are assigned.

 

Oltre l’ambivalenza del “care”: indicazioni analitiche sull’antropologia del prendersi cura

Numerose ambivalenze, conflitti interpretativi e problemi di traduzione culturale sorgono quando si usa il concetto di care. Per l’antropologia medica, esso ha offerto la possibilita di criticare forme di riduzionismo bio-medico della cura. Allo sviluppo di questa visione morale ha contribuito l’aumento di malattie croniche per cui non esiste “cura”, nel senso di guarigione – cure. Allo stesso tempo, il lavoro di cura informale ha assunto un’importanza strategica nello scenario di ristrutturazione dei servizi pubblici di assistenza. In questo senso, la visione morale del “prendersi cura” è stata accusata di distogliere l’attenzione dalle forme di diseguaglianza sociale che si riproducono nell’ambiente domestico e familiare attraverso la cura stessa.

PDF