Abstract
This reflexive essay examines the adoption of an intentional ‘ethic of care’ by social work administrators in a large social work school located in the Pacific Northwest. An ethic of care foregrounds networks of human interdependence that collapse the public/private divide. Moreover, rooted in the political theory of recognition, a care ethic responds to crisis by attending to individuals’ uniqueness and ‘whole particularity.’ Foremost, it rejects indifference. Through the personal recollections of one academic administrator, the impact of rejecting indifference in spring term 2020 is described. The essay concludes by linking the rejection of indifference to the national political landscape.
Highlights
This reflexive essay examines the adoption of an intentional ‘ethic of care’ by social work administrators in a large social work school located in the Pacific Northwest
I had billed it as a Virtual Connection Space and literally plunked down the names, in my Google calendar, of all 400 BSW students, advisors, inclusion coordinators, administrative staff, full-time faculty, and adjunct faculty
In the Google calendar invite, I aimed for the language of “holding space” often used by my millennial activist colleagues: This is not a mandatory meeting, just a space for BSW students and faculty to connect, ask questions about spring term, and see each other’s children and pets
Summary
This reflexive essay examines the adoption of an intentional ‘ethic of care’ by social work administrators in a large social work school located in the Pacific Northwest. In the Google calendar invite, I aimed for the language of “holding space” often used by my millennial activist colleagues: This is not a mandatory meeting, just a space for BSW students and faculty to connect, ask questions about spring term, and see each other’s children and pets. In four years as BSW director, I had taught, hired five faculty, and conducted Director Dialogues with 60 students at a time, but I had done nothing like this.
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