The NASP PhD program in Sociology and Methodology of Social Research (SOMET) is glad to announce the

Conference 

Caring for Care
A Paradigm between Academic Research and Grassroots Practices

11 June 2026, h. 10:00-16:30
Room A | NASP Graduate School
University of Milan
Via Pace, 10 - Milan
 

The event, organized by the SOMET PhD students of the 40th cohort, arises from the desire of some SOMET doctoral candidates to promote a day of critical reflection on the theme of care, understood not only as a sectoral field or a set of circumscribed practices, but as an interpretative paradigm through which we might rethink the forms of contemporary social organization. While the initiative takes inspiration from the reflections proposed in the Manifesto of Care (2020) by the London collective The Care Collective, it also acknowledges that scholarly and public debates on care have significantly expanded in the years since its publication. Today, care is increasingly mobilized as a political and social principle capable of informing new modes of coexistence, relationships, and collective responsibility, in dialogue with a broader and more diversified body of research.
In the volume, care is presented as a fundamental element of social reproduction, as recognition of vulnerability and human fragility, and as an essential collective necessity for the functioning of societies. Nevertheless, care has long been devalued on symbolic, cultural, and economic levels, while other organizing principles – such as profit, value extraction, individual resilience, and activation of personal resources – have assumed a central role in social and institutional processes.
Recent scholarship and grassroots practices have further deepened these reflections, showing how the marginalization of care intersects with inequalities, governance models, and shifting socio economic conditions. This marginalization has produced significant effects on social relations, living conditions, and the possibilities of building more equitable forms of solidarity and interdependence. The seminar aims to highlight the reasons and consequences of this absence of care in contemporary social systems, while also questioning the potential benefits and concrete limits of repositioning it at the center of sociological imagination and grassroots practices.

The initiative aims to:
• explore care as a critical lens to analyze ongoing social transformations;
• foster an interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars and social realities active in the territory;
• reflect on the practical implications and possibilities of translating the care paradigm into social, institutional, and political practices;
• create an open space for discussion, capable of connecting theoretical perspectives and operational testimonies.

Program
10:00-13:00   Morning Session

Keynote speech and academic dialogue on the transformative power of care as a critical paradigm.
Participants: Brunella Casalini (University of Florence), Annalisa Murgia (University of Milan), Angela Maria Toffanin (University of Padova), Davide Caselli (University of Bergamo), Francesca Bianchi (University of Siena), Mariagrazia Santagati (Catholic University of Milan)

13:00-14:00   Lunch

14:00-16:30   Afternoon Session                      

Meeting with social realities that will offer concrete examples and practices intertwined with the theoretical reflections of the first part.

Participants: Camille Allard (University of Milan), Carlotta Mozzana (University of Milan-Bicocca), Carlotta Cossutta (Casa delle Donne di Milano), Marta Berti and Dario Anzani (Comunità del Giambellino), Amelia Imparato (Mutuo Soccorso Milano), Paola Montedoro e Loredana Carpentieri (Emergency) 

Participation in person and online. For remote access or further information, you may contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

The seminar is open to the academic community and all those interested in contributing to a collective discussion on the role of care in contemporary societies. 

Scientific & Organizing Committee
The event is organized by the PhD Candidates of the 40th Cohort of SOMET:
Francesco Balzaretti, Chiara Bresciani, Eugenia Crosetti, Chiara Moruzzi, Alice Sanarico, Elisa Sbalchiero