Care in Practice: On Tinkering in Clinics, Homes and Farms (MatteRealities / VerKörperungen: Perspectives from Empirical Science Studies)

"In what way is 'care' a matter of 'tinkering'? Rather than presenting care as a (preferably 'warm') relation between human beings, the various contributions to the volume give the material world (usually cast as 'cold') a prominent place in their analysis. Thus, this book does not continue to oppose care and technology, but contributes to rethinking both in such a way that they can be analysed together. Technology is not cast as a functional tool, easy to control -- it is shifting, changing, surprising and adaptable. In care practices all 'things' are (and have to be) tinkered with persistently. Knowledge is fluid, too. Rather than a set of general rules, the knowledges (in the plural) relevant to care practices are as adaptable and in need of adaptation as the technologies, the bodies, the people, and the daily lives involved"--Provided by publisher. Care : Putting Practice Into Theory / Annemarie Mol, Ingunn Moser & Jeannette Pols -- On Recognition, Caring, And Dementia / Janelle Taylor -- Care And Killing : Tensions In Veterinary Practice / John Law -- How To Become A Guardian Angel : Providing Safety In A Home Telecare Service / Daniel López, Blanca Callén, Francisco Tirado & Miquel Domènech -- Care And Disability : Practices Of Experimenting, Tinkering With, And Arranging People And Technical Aids / Myriam Winance -- Now Or Later? : Individual Disease And Care Collectives In The Memory Clinic / Tiago Moreira -- Animal Farm Love Stories : About Care And Economy / Hans Harbers -- Telecare : What Patients Care About / Jeannette Pols -- When Patients Care (too Much) For Information / Brit Toss Winthereik & Henriette Langstrup -- Care And Its Values : Good Food In The Nursing Home / Annemarie Mol -- Good Farming : Control Or Care? / Vicky Singleton -- Varieties Of Goodness In High-tech Home Care / Dick Williams -- Perhaps Tears Should Not Be Counted But Wiped Away : On Quality And Improvement In Dementia Care / Ingunn Moser -- The Syndrome We Care For / Xperiment!, Bernd Kraeftner, Judith Kroell, Isabel Warner. Annemarie Mol, Ingunn Moser, Jeannette Pols, Eds. Includes Bibliographical References.

In what way is »care« a matter of »tinkering«? Rather than presenting care as a (preferably »warm«) relation between human beings, the various contributions to the volume give the material world (usually cast as »cold«) a prominent place in their analysis. Thus, this book does not continue to oppose care and technology, but contributes to rethinking both in such a way that they can be analysed together.Technology is not cast as a functional tool, easy to control - it is shifting, changing, surprising and adaptable. In care practices all »things« are (and have to be) tinkered with persistently. Knowledge is fluid, too. Rather than a set of general rules, the knowledges (in the plural) relevant to care practices are as adaptable and in need of adaptation as the technologies, the bodies, the people, and the daily lives involved.