Date of Award

1-1-2023

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Anthropology

Content Description

1 online resource (x, 183 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Elise Andaya

Committee Members

Jennifer Burrell, Jennifer Dodge

Keywords

care, caregiving, disability, gender, Poland, socialism, Caregivers, People with disabilities

Subject Categories

Social and Cultural Anthropology

Abstract

The last few years in Poland have seen the increasing visibility of disabled people and family caregivers who demand the introduction of public policies more responsive to their needs. Such development suggests a shift from deeply rooted gendered ideas about caregiving and the rise of activism of people with disabilities and family caregivers who call for solutions to the neoliberalization of care work. However, despite growing attention to disability and care within anthropology, few studies have focused explicitly on caregiving relations in the context of disability, especially in the formerly socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. This dissertation attempts to fill this void in scholarship by examining gender, care, and disability in postsocialist Poland. By tracing the narratives of people with disabilities and family caregivers, I bring together anthropological perspectives on gender roles, disability, personhood, and caregiving.My research aims to explore the experiences of people with disabilities and family caregivers in Poland, focusing on the intersection of gender and caregiving. Through qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews with twelve people with disabilities and five family caregivers, I have uncovered some significant insights. One of the key findings of my research was the considerable burden placed on women as caregivers. My research demonstrates how the Polish state outsources most of its responsibility for caring for disabled citizens to their family members, primarily mothers. Participants reported a lack of access to resources such as respite care, personal assistance, and social support. This strategy harms caregivers’ physical and emotional well-being. Another critical observation from my study pertains to the continuities of socialist disability policies in how the responsibility for caring for disabled people is designated in the postsocialist era. Therefore, I show that its state socialist legacy profoundly shapes disability policies in capitalist Poland. Moreover, by analyzing my study participants’ encounters with bureaucrats and public institutions, I demonstrate how Polish public policies concerning people with disabilities and family caregivers influence their daily lives and place a significant administrative burden on them to access the benefits and services they are entitled to. This dissertation considers caring both in the sense of an ethic and an activity. As an ethic, caregiving can be a profoundly transforming and rewarding experience for those who provide and receive care. As an activity, it can be overwhelming and exhausting labor, but also a joyful and bonding practice. Unfortunately, however, it turns into a mechanism by which the neoliberal state produces and controls caregivers, imposing caregiving duties on them while shirking their responsibilities to their citizens. My study shows that this attitude toward care harms caregivers and people with disabilities. Overall, my research has significant implications for policy and practice related to disability and care in Poland. My findings reinforce the importance of providing greater support for caregivers, implementing more inclusive approaches to disability policy and advocacy, and increasing access to resources for people with disabilities and their families. Furthermore, my dissertation has contributed to the anthropology of caregiving, gender and disability in Central Eastern Europe, where these areas of inquiry remain neglected.

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