Care in Practice. On Normativity, Concepts, and Boundaries

Abstract

In recent years many STS scholars have dealt with care practices in different fields. Starting from Care in Practice. On Tinkering in Clinics, Homes and Farms [Transcript-Verlag, Bielefield, 2010, 325 pp.], a book edited by Annemarie Mol, Ingunn Moser and Jeannette Pols, this debate aims to discuss the meaning and development of the concept of care and its accomplishment in practice. Mauro Turrini, Enrico Maria Piras and Alberto Zanutto wrote two commentaries on the book, while the editors answered to their observations. The result is a vibrant discussion that goes beyond the care to address issues such as the need / refusal to define and delimit concepts in doing social research and what these boundaries mean / do.