Speaker: Juno Salazar Parreñas, associate professor of Science and Technology Studies and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Cornell University

Respondent: Pascal Gagneux, professor, Department of Anthropology, UC San Diego

Hosted by Wentao Ma, Ph.D. student, Department of Literature, UC San Diego

Abstract

When does care become cruel? Caring for semi-wild orangutans entails hitting them in order to make them averse to human contact because an ideal rehabilitated orangutan should avoid people instead of seeking them out. Caring for ex-circus lions, which are apex predators, hinges on both unequal land ownership and an attitude that some lives are naturally prey. Meanwhile, offering sanctuary to ex-dairy cows extends their lives to unknown durations and unknown geriatric health challenges. All of these cases suggest the difficulty of drawing a line between care and cruelty. This talk cautions against uncritical acceptance of what care is and what actions are done in its name.

Biography

Juno Salazar Parreñas is an associate professor of Science and Technology Studies and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Cornell University. She is the author of "Decolonizing Extinction: The Work of Care in Orangutan Rehabilitation" (Duke UP, 2018), which received the 2019 Michelle Rosaldo Prize from the Association for Feminist Anthropology.

Location

Public Engagement Building (PEB) 721 is located in the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood.

Parking

The closest visitor parking is located in the Scholars Parking underground parking structure (map). Weekend parking is $2/hour.

About the Media Care Talk Series

Dozing at the movie theater, listening to the podcast on the subway, counseling via Zoom appointments, searching immigration policy on the internet…In this increasingly crumbling world, media offer maintenance and sustain our vitality while they also harm our well-being through abuse and addiction. This talk series examines the concept of care and showcases the process of knowledge production surrounding artificial care in media practice. We will browse a range of media objects and platforms - from cinema to teletherapy, from smart drugs to sleep apps - and explore the habitual, affective, and material potential of healing and solidarity within film and media theories.

This series is co-organized by the Film Studies Program and the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts at UC San Diego with generous support from the following: 21 Century China Center, Department of Communication, Department of Visual Arts, Department of Literature, and the Institute of Arts & Humanities.

Questions

Email surajisranicenter@ucsd.edu.

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