Caring for Life: A Postdevelopment Politics of Infant Hygiene (Diverse Economies and Livable Worlds)

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Synopsis
The transformational possibilities of everyday hygiene and care practices In order to mitigate the worst forecasts of climate change, many of us need to make drastic adjustments to how we live and what we consume. For Kelly Dombroski, these changes must also happen in the home: in rethinking routines of care and hygiene that still rely on disposable and plastic products. Caring for Life examines the remarkable evolution in Asia-Pacific hygiene practices and amplifies the creative work of ordinary people guarding human and more-than-human life in their everyday practices of care. Dombroski develops the concept of &“guarding life,&” a viewpoint that counters homogenous cultural practices and imposed sanitation standards and instead embraces diverse hygiene practices that are networked across varying wisdoms and bodies. She traces how the Chinese diaper-free infant toilet training practice of baniao has traveled to Australia and New Zealand, and she explores the practice of elimination communication, in which babies learn to communicate to their caregivers when they need to eliminate, thus removing the need for diapers. A mother herself, Dombroski conducted ethnographic research while mothering to examine how collectives of mothers draw on Chinese knowledge and their own embodied practices of childcare to create new hybrid forms of infant care. Caring for Life is a call to action, a theory of change, and a fascinating account of the transformational possibilities of care practices. It shows how experiments in personal care can lead to collective, widespread change, ultimately providing a practical and hopeful vision for environmental action. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.
Copyright:
2024

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
224 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781452970783
Related ISBNs:
9781517901608
Publisher:
University of Minnesota Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Victoria University of Wellington and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. Portions of chapter
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Outdoors and Nature, Earth Sciences, Sociology
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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