Meika Loe, professor of sociology and women’s studies, has started a new blog, , as a way to “broaden our community of care as we collectively face the coronavirus crisis,” featuring contributions of fellow colleagues, and current students and alums of her SOCI 369: Women, Health, & Medicine class.
Loe created the blog as a way to honor the undervalued practice of caring for one other, with a focus on the ways in which neighbors care for neighbors, the crucial roles of health care practitioners and grocery store workers, finding virtual connections with others during isolation, and reflections on issues of race and privilege that have arisen due to the pandemic. Even the blog entries posted about self-care are written in the context of aspiring toward collective care – care for family, pets, our earth, friends, team-mates, colleagues, classmates -- care for loved ones.
Loe’s SOCI 369 class draws on interdisciplinary research and writings to explore the ways in which the nature, distribution, meanings, and everyday life experiences associated with health, medicine, and illness are shaped by historical, cultural, political, and economic factors. Covering both micro- and macro-sociological terrains, students utilize a gendered intersectional lens to critically analyze the construction of gendered medical problems and doctor-patient encounters throughout history, women’s experiences in a male-dominated health care system, and social movements in response to medical injustices.