Miranda Campbell

How to Care More

Seven Skills for Personal and Social Change

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

How to Care More offers a definition of care based in relational action, highlighting care as an umbrella concept that can catalyze personal and social change. Each chapter provides an overview of one skill to practice caring more, including listening, consent, collaboration, and cultivating inclusion, love, and resilience.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Rowman & Littlefield
• Seitenzahl: 202
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. Januar 2022
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 157mm x 16mm
• Gewicht: 440g
• ISBN-13: 9781538145043
• ISBN-10: 1538145049
• Artikelnr.: 60981516

Autorenporträt

By Miranda Campbell PhD

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction: Fostering Care
The introduction chapter gives an overview of both the need for and the
rise in caring values. Chapter 1 sets the stage for the book by giving an
overview of the importance of care and a people-centered approach in
opposition the contemporary neoliberal demands of competitiveness and
self-reliance. This chapter introduces care as a central value, that
centers relationality. Following Fisher and Tronto (1990), I mobilize a
definition of care as a process, including caring about (attentiveness to a
problem), caring for (taking responsibility for a problem), care giving
(competently addressing the problem) and care receiving (responsiveness to
how the care was delivered).
Two profiles illustrate the principle of youth-led peer support / teaching
and learning in this chapter:
Alt Gen (London, UK): This co-operative was set up by two young women to
respond to the widespread youth unemployment crisis in the Great Recession
period. Alt Gen suggests that young people should stop competing with one
another for scarce resources and instead should start collaborating. As a
co-operative, Alt Gen teaches young people how to create their own
co-operatives, and offers funding to help youth set up their own
initiatives.
H.O.L.L.A. (NYC, USA). H.O.L.L.A. stands for "How Our Lives Link Together"
and offers programming for youth to understand their place within broader
systems of power and work towards empowerment, all the while underscoring
love, working together, and taking care of one another. H.O.L.L.A. was
founded by 6 young men in a New York correctional facility who were already
facing extensive prison sentences by their 21st birthdays. H.O.L.L.A. has
developed its own Healing-Centered Youth Organizing Curriculum, which
informs its youth programs in the areas of knowledge sharing, leadership
training, and collective formation.
Concluding Activity: Intersectionality Card Game
This activity gives instruction for readers to make and arrange cards to
consider different aspects of their intersectional selves, so that readers
can reflect on their own identities and how they relate and interact with
others.
Chapter 1: Listen
Caring for one another starts from a place of willingness to listen. Though
we might think listening is an innate ability, most people don't know how
to listen very well. This chapter forwards listening as an active skill
that needs commitment, practice, and patience, and an other-focus rather
than a self-focus. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the practices of
amplification, or highlighting the words of marginalized voices in group
settings, calling out vs. calling in, or when to publicly denounce bad
behavior vs. when to invite offenders to reconsider their ways, and
allyship, or using privilege to support the work of marginalized groups.
The focus in Chapter 1 is listening in conversations, but also listening
more broadly, in the sense of paying attention to others, understanding and
appreciating others' stories. This takes on particular importance in the
context of historically marginalized groups, whose stories have not been
listened to or valued in society.
Two profiles illustrate the principles of listening in this chapter:
Call Your Girlfriend podcast (online). Call Your Girlfriend is a podcast
about long-distance female friendship, based in "shine theory" which, as
the podcast explains, means that "that when one of us shines, we all do.
Our default is collaboration, not competition." The podcast discusses and
celebrates the experiences of women as the two hosts Aminatou and Ann call
each other to discuss pop culture and politics.
Think and Die Thinking Collective (San Jose, California): This DIY punk
collective works to bring together those with "othered" identities through
an annual arts festival. Think and Die Thinking's mission is to facilitate
musical events, workshops, dance nights, while "protect[ting] the safe
spaces created for those who feel systematically othered in our community
(ie. queer folks, transfolks, people of color, youth, etc.)"
Concluding Activity: Active Listening
This worksheet provides active listening exercises to practice in a group
of three, with a provided modification to also do the exercises alone.
Chapter 2: Consent
In 2017, the number of women and other marginalized people coming forward
to speak about their experience of sexual harassment in the creative
industries caused many commentators to describe the zeitgeist as a
"watershed" or "tipping point" in acknowledging inequities in these
industries. TIME magazine named "The Silence Breakers," or the women coming
forward to expose rampant sexual misconduct in the creative industries, as
the Person of the Year. But long before this moment, grassroots educators
have been working to create awareness about consent amongst a broader "rape
culture." Chapter 3 gives an overview of principles of consent, including
bodily autonomy and negotiation. These principles are important in the
context of sexual violence and in the work of moving from rape culture to a
culture of consent. These principles of consent are also important in the
context of cultural appropriation, a one-sided process of using or
benefited from someone else's culture, that can intentionally or
unintentionally cause harm. Chapter 3 highlights the important of
reciprocity and relationship building in navigating consent, and outlines
the differences between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation.
Two profiles illustrate the principle of consent in this chapter:
#AfterMeToo (online): Founded by three women working in the entertainment
industries, #AfterMeToo is working to establish accountability in these
industries, creating solidarity to counter sexual violence. The group has
produced a series of recommendations to combat sexual violence and sexual
harassment, including funding for support services and the creation of
national organizations to address sexual violence in the entertainment
industries.
Beyond Buckskin (Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation and online): When
Jessica Metcalfe was completing her PhD, she researched how Indigenous
artists could be supported, given the long-standing history of
appropriating Indigenous cultures. After she graduated, she decided to put
her ideas into practice by creating the Beyond Buckskin business, which
"promotes cultural appreciation, social relationships, authenticity and
creativity." As both a bricks and mortar and online shop, Beyond Buckskin
sells creations from Indigenous designers and jewelry artists, and believes
in a philosophy of "positive activism and a desire to share our cultures
with the world through fashion design."
Concluding Activity: Appropriation or Appreciation Case Studies
Is it cultural appropriation to celebrate elements of someone else's
culture? This activity provides a series of scenarios from recent news
stories in order to investigate the principles of appreciation vs.
appropriation in light of the concepts from Chapter 2 about consent and
reciprocity.
Chapter 3: Inclusion
Inclusion of diverse types of people doesn't happen by merely being
welcoming. While diversity can refer to demographic difference (including
race, gender, social class, sexuality, ability / disability, age, and so
on), inclusion characterizes the nature of a climate or culture, including
a feeling a belonging alongside difference being recognized and valued
(Shore et al., 2011; Shore, Cleveland, & Sanchez, 2018). Here, the book
focuses on equity and centering difference as the work of cultivating
inclusion. Inclusion is intentional and fostered through structural
mechanisms. In this way, it must be actively cultivated and sown. While we
might recognize these qualities are needed in an ecological sense, to
nurture plant life to grow, Chapter 3 suggests we can learn from these
examples of cultivating the earth to consider how we can best cultivate
inclusion. In Chapter 3, I turn to the lessons from youth food collectives
that also actively cultivate inclusion.
Two profiles illustrate the principles of cultivation and inclusion in this
chapter:
Roots to Harvest (Thunder Bay, Canada): Under the mantra of "punks growing
food," Roots to Harvest provides training and employment to marginalized
youth to learn to grow their own food in remote and rural areas. Projects
include community gardens, market vending, a food delivery cycling program.
Agrikua (Nairobi, Kenya): Agrikua is the Swahili word for "grow," and is an
international project with a particular focus on the African context that
was founded by ten young people from across the globe. As an online
platform, Agrikua aims to create greater gender equality in the
agricultural sector and provides tools for young women to start their own
agricultural businesses.
Concluding Activity: How to Build Your Own Self-Watering Container Garden
This activity lists easy-to-obtain materials and provides illustrated
instructions for readers to build their own low-maintenance container
gardens, suitable for a small space like a balcony, porch, or rooftop.
Chapter 4: Collaborate
Like "creativity," collaboration has become a contemporary buzzword,
mobilized to mean everything and nothing. From the rise of co-working
spaces to the so-called "sharing" economy, collaboration is a term that is
valued in contemporary culture, but is also used in hollow but celebratory
ways. Nonetheless, working with others can push us to a more creative and
innovative place than we can access on our own. Chapter 4 of this book
moves past the buzz to clearly define collaboration as the desire to
meaningfully work together in group-based settings, across differences,
with a commitment to putting in the work to realize these group efforts. In
opposition to popular celebrations of creative collaboration that highlight
serendipity and creative "soulmates," this chapter emphasizes the necessary
commitment, the work, and the challenges of working with others in
collaborative ventures. Chapter 4 gives an overview of best practices in
creative collaboration, including shared vision, valuing differences and
diversity, creating a structure or framework, creating a supportive
environment for the whole self, and committing to behind-the
scenes-logistical work.
Two profiles illustrate the principles of creative collaboration in this
chapter:
Mahoyo (Stockholm, Sweeden): Mahoyo (a combination of the Mandarin and
Somali words for "mother)" is creative collective working across artistic
mediums under the mantra of "busy building the future." Working
transnationally, fostering creative exchanges in places like Johannesburg,
the collective aims to break stereotypes in gender, race, and location.
Reconstruct (Amsterdam, Netherlands): When six members of the graduating
class of the William de Kooning Academy heard there would be no money for a
fashion show, they decided to crowdfund to make their own. Working with a
shared vision and complementary skill sets, the collective has referred to
itself as a "strong girl squad" and continues to produce fashion lines
together.
Concluding Activity: Accessibility Design Challenge
Who is invited to participate when we design products and services and who
is excluded? How can we collaborate when many folks are left out of the
picture? This activity guides readers through an activity to redesign a
favorite product or service so it is more accessible to a broader range of
users.
Chapter 5: Love
Like "collaboration," love can sometimes be an easy platitude, because we
all know that love is important and that we should love one another. But
love also takes commitment, work, and active presence. Black feminist Audre
Lorde's discussion of self-care positions love for the self as a radical
act: "caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation,
and that is an act of political warfare." Love for the self takes on
particular importance for marginalized people, whose identities have been
devalued, criminalized, and erased. The neoliberal turn towards individual
self-management may have resulted in self-care being depoliticized, or
turned towards consumer-based activities like shopping and spa visits.
Rather than suggest that self-love is a consumer-based practice, Chapter 5
highlights centering the self, taking care of the self, and affirming the
self. While the book advocates for a relational concept of the self,
Chapter 5 reminds readers to center themselves and to prioritize themselves
alongside the other-directed work that has been outlined in the book.
Two profiles illustrate the principle of self-love in this chapter:
#LoveYourz (NYC, USA): #LoveYourz started as a small Facebook group, a
place for teens to support each other and encourage self-love and
creativity. Now the teen self-love group has translated into a real-world
movement of positive energy and peer support.
Black Lives Matter Toronto Freedom School (Toronto, Canada): A three week
summer program for Black children ages 4-10, the Freedom School teaches
self-love, responding to a lack of humanizing, self-affirming, and queer
positive educational opportunities for Black children in the formal
education sector.
Concluding Activity: Self- Care Guide
Self-care is more than treating yourself to nice things. In this activity,
readers create a plan to take care of themselves through difficult times.
Conclusion: Remaining Resilient
The popular Netflix documentary Knock Down the House follows four
grassroots candidates trying to get elected in the US primaries. One of
these candidates, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is shown canvassing for
signatures with her niece. She tells her niece, "for every 10 rejections,
you get one acceptance, and that's how you win everything." Beyond a
discourse of winning vs. losing, the conclusion of the book highlights the
ongoing and process-oriented nature of care work, the need for persistence,
and the importance of celebrating small wins. Persisting through troubling
times takes courage, perseverance, and inner strength. It also means
working with others to keep going through challenges and setbacks. This
concluding chapter reviews the strategies of care covered through the tools
of the book while highlighting resilience. These strategies of listening,
consent, inclusion, collaboration, and love are reviewed through three
closing profiles of youth and youth collectives who have resiliently worked
to create more space and opportunities for others.
Concluding Voices:
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafizi
Jazz Jennings has worked to normalize and create acceptance for trans youth
and trans people across platforms, including her television show and book,
I am Jazz and Being Jazz. At 18, Jazz has recently undergone gender
reassignment surgery.
Ezra Green, a young Mi'kmaw activist, part of the Cree youth Nishiyuu
journey where Indigenous youth walked 1600 kilometers from a Cree village
in Northern Quebec to the seat of Canadian government in Ottawa, in support
of the Idle No More movement that protests for Indigenous people's
rights.states, "
Concluding Activity: Vision Board and Resilience Affirmations
This final activity of the book invites readers to map their own journeys
of where they have been, who they are currently, where they are going, and
who is with them, supporting them. This vision board mapping concludes with
resilience affirmations to persist in the face of adversity.