By Marit Peterson

Over the first week of June, I had the pleasure of attending the “Caring Futures” Conference at the American University of Paris where my colleague Emily Anderson and I presented a workshop. This academic conference recognizes the concept of “care” as interdisciplinary and contentious, emphasizing its contradictions: lack of social and economic support for certain care relationships; costs of care; accessibility of care; denial of care; and exploitative conditions of care work. Despite these challenges, creative theorists envision wide possibilities and opportunities for expansion and recognition of care relationships and structures of care. It was exciting and inspiring to hear about those possibilities and strategies from thinkers and activists from around the world!

Emily and I presented a workshop exploring the presence of power within care relationships by analogizing to deconstructionist Jacques Derrida’s hospitality/hostility analysis. (Derrida, Jacques (2000) ‘HOSTIPITALITY’, Angelaki – Journal of Theoretical Humanities, 5:3, 3 — 18.)  Participants reflected on distinct care relationships with both individuals and systems, including health care and long term care provider systems, and on behalf of our colleagues representing single payer systems, states themselves. It was energizing to engage with folks who are seeking expanded definitions and understandings of “family,” and seeking enhanced support for care teams of all kinds in this interdisciplinary forum.

I was particularly interested in an ongoing discussion developed over the course of the conference comparing various definitions and understandings of “family” as presented in family leave legislation; and the evolving approaches states are taking. Expansive definitions can shift time-burdens to court systems and processes themselves as parties present evidence as to relationship, which can then be considered. Nonetheless, calling for systems’ engagement with relationships at person-centered levels has been a theme of our advocacy at MEJC. It’s heartening to see our goals shared by folks from other places.