Stenbacka: Why Rural Geographers Should “Care”

In Rural Geography I: Why Should Rural Geographers ‘Care’? Susanne Stenbacka (Human Geography, Uppsala University, Sweden) explores the existing literature discussing the concept of care and its intersection with rural geography. Stenbacka encourages rural geographers to incorporate care theory into their research, arguing that care can be used both as a tool and a lens through which to view the challenges faced by rural spaces.

Stenbacka explains that care is a concept that goes beyond human relationships and interactions, involving a wide range of personal, public, and political relationships and environments. Turning specifically to rural spaces, Stenbacka discusses past research that highlights the importance of care dynamics in evaluating rural infrastructure and economics. Researchers have argued that care in rural spaces is impacted by each locality’s unique social and cultural geographies and goes beyond mere formal medical interventions. Researchers have also highlighted the importance of human and non-human care dynamics in rural spaces through farming and land management practices, which serve an important role in informal care practices. However, Stenbacka cautions that care in rural spaces can also contribute negatively to power dynamics and can include harmful paternalistic relationships between people and places.

Stenbacka also points to care as a counterpoint to the contemporary focus on individualism. The “public ethics of care” concept developed through recent literature analyzes how care permeates public policy formation in government and impacts areas such as housing, infrastructure, and environmental politics. Public ethics of care focus on interpersonal relationships and the common good.

While Stenbacka notes that care can helpfully accompany political and policy engagement in rural areas, she also warns of the concept being deployed as a tool to justify the State’s disinvestment in a community. For that reason, she encourages rural geographers to “trouble” care by viewing its practice through positions of power and the role of public bodies and market actors. Because care theory can help researchers investigate contemporary rural structures and illuminate the everyday lives of rural people, Stenbacka hopes that future research evaluating spatial inequalities and other issues in rural spaces will consider and be informed by care practices and the public ethics of care.