Lucile Richard
Please tell us about your research project.
My research focuses on the concept of "carelessness," which I define as the absence, inadequacy, or insufficiency of care. It critically interrogates the politicization of structural neglect and abuse within both private and public care institutions. While my dissertation assessed the limitations and potential of post-Foucauldian frameworks in understanding and addressing the systemic deficits of care experienced by marginalized communities, my postdoctoral project takes a distinct approach. It offers a queer-feminist reimagining of care ethics and politics, shifting the focus from caregivers to care-receivers. Where dominant perspectives often start with the assumption that everyone is cared for, albeit differently, I propose a reversal: most people remain uncared for. The carelessness they collectively, though distinctively, experience can serve as the foundation for a more intersectional and inclusive understanding of the politics inherent in combatting the exploitative and dispossessing global organization of care work.
Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?
The OxPo Postdoctoral Fellowship I have been awarded is a prestigious one-year exchange program between Oxford University and Sciences Po in Paris. It is designed to promote academic collaboration and scholarly exchange across the humanities and social sciences, providing an invaluable opportunity to engage with leading scholars from both institutions. As a fellow, I benefit from the intellectual resources and vibrant academic networks at Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations and Nuffield College. This enables me to advance my research on care ethics and politics within a stimulating environment that includes queer and feminist scholars, as well as experts in critical disability, race and childhood studies. The fellowship also grants me the opportunity to organize and participate in a range of academic events, seminars, and workshops across Oxford, including initiatives such as the Oxford Care Hub, the Care Initiative, and research groups like “Intersectional Humanities” and “Race and Resistance” within the Torch Network. Through these avenues, I will be able to broaden the scope of my research while forging meaningful international collaborations that enhance my contribution to global conversations on care ethics and politics, as well as queer-feminist political theory.
First impressions of Oxford/the University?
My first impressions of Oxford and the University have been overwhelmingly positive, particularly in terms of the extensive intellectual resources, research support initiatives, and collaborative opportunities available. The vibrant community here encourages interdisciplinary projects, while providing avenues to disseminate our findings to a wider audience. I see Oxford as an invaluable environment for both intellectual and personal growth, and for building connections that will support future collective research endeavors around carelessness and the analysis of the forms of subjugation implicated in care-receiving.
