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Asha Bhandary, an ethicist from the University of Iowa Department of Philosophy, will present "The Arrow of Care" at 4 p.m. Monday, April 20 in Morgan Hall 109. Her lecture, one of the University Theme 2014-15 events, is open free to the public.
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University of Iowa Ethicist to Present University Theme Lecture April 20

March 23, 2015

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MACOMB, IL — Asha Bhandary, an ethicist from the University of Iowa Department of Philosophy, will present "The Arrow of Care" at 4 p.m. Monday, April 20 in Morgan Hall 109. Her lecture, one of the University Theme 2014-15 events, is open free to the public.

In the lecture, Bhandary—who specializes in political and social philosophy, as well as feminist ethics—will address the tensions between feminism and multiculturalism on such issues as arranged marriages.

"Everyone needs to receive care to survive, and many people provide care," Bhandary noted in the lecture abstract. "Because care arrangements have been obscured by stereotypes about gender and race in many societies, identifying how much care people receive and how much they provide is a significant task of its own. We cannot simply quantify care like money, though, because it is provided by people. It is best understood as an arrow that goes from one person toward another person. I call this the "arrow of care," and it should be used to identify the quantities and intensity of care that individuals provide and receive. After the arrow of care is mapped for a given society, we can then evaluate whether the care arrangements are fair. We should embrace multiculturalism at this stage to permit some diversity in the balancing of care and autonomy. Finally, the arrow of care analysis yields some surprising results. For instance, it reveals the positive value of the traditional Indian practice of arranged marriage as part of a system designed to secure care for everyone."

Bhandary's lecture is co-sponsored by the University Theme Committee, the Office of the Provost and Academic Vice President, the WIU Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, the Feminist Action Alliance, the WIU Women's Center and the WIU Department of Women's Studies.

The 2014-15 University Theme is: Ethics: A Foundation for Personal Growth and Social Responsibility. More information about the University Theme and related events is available at www.wiu.edu/student_services/theme/.

For more information on Bhandary's lecture, contact WIU Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Chair Gordon Pettit at (309) 298-1057 or via email at G-Pettit@wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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