Posted: February 28, 2022 Accepted Languages: English/Inglés/Inglês
Social care will be critical for recuperation and so much else over the coming years. In this panel we aim to explore how and why and what’s at stake.
Social care and social services provide for millions of people with mental health needs, who are disabled, who are vulnerable or who have long-term needs. At its best social care enables and empowers, it builds capabilities and sustains community. But it also systematises neglect and shields accountability, at times allowing society look away from those most in need. As covid-19 lingers, policy planners in many countries have promised to reconfigure social care arrangements. Debating who will benefit from changes made and who gets to decide is an issue that is urgent and ongoing.
While STS scholars have made notable contributions on ethics, infrastructures and matters of care, attention to social care has been less plentiful. Compared with clinical services and healthcare systems for instance, social care’s knowledge, practices and research infrastructures are granted lower status, fewer resources and only modest intellectual inspection.
We encourage submissions that address this situation through any approach at home in the halls of 4S and from any part of the world.
