The Carework Network launched in August 2000 with a one-day conference at Howard University in Washington, D.C., prior to the American Sociological Association meetings. In the quarter century since, many of our motivating questions have continued as both pressing social matters and persistent research interests. Simultaneously, new questions have emerged as the Network has expanded to include a broader range of disciplines, participants, geographic contexts, and research settings.

The Carework Network is taking this opportunity of its 25th anniversary to reflect on the histories and futures of carework research and the study of care more broadly during a bilingual (Spanish and English) three-day conference bringing together researchers and advocates from around the world.

The conference will explore how conversations about care have developed during this period and what factors have informed notable inflection points — not only discrete events such as the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic but also more sustained dynamics such as environmental crises, pervasive neoliberal policies, the ongoing importance of migrant careworkers, the changing role of technologies and infrastructures, and renewed global reckonings with the effects of racism and colonialism.

🚨📆🚨SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED  🚨📆🚨

We invite submissions that allow us to explore these histories together as well as their implications for the futures of care and care studies. We welcome proposals for the following submission types:

1. Individual paper proposals should include an abstract of 300 words and a brief (c. five entries) bibliography of work that has informed your research or with which you are in conversation.
2. Fully constituted panel proposals should describe the topic and relationship between papers in no more than 300 words. Additionally, include 300-word abstracts for each paper. Panels should have 3-5 papers. We encourage panels that bring together participants from different perspectives, disciplines, geographies, methodologies and/or that connect scholarly knowledge to public conversations.

All submissions should include title, name, contact information for author(s), institutional affiliation (if applicable), and occupational status (student, faculty, advocate, practitioner etc.). All submissions should include objectives or research questions; methodology, geographical or sectoral context, main findings and conclusions, and 4-5 keywords describing the research.

We welcome submissions in English or Spanish, from all academic disciplines, independent researchers, advocacy or non- profit organizations, and public and private sector organizations. We also encourage participation by undergraduate and graduate students.

The Carework Network is an international organization of scholars and advocates who focus on the caring work of individuals, families, communities, paid and unpaid caregivers, social service agencies, and state bureaucracies.

Authors and panel organizers should submit a proposal for a paper or panel to careworknetwork2025@gmail.com (by e-mail only) no later than September 15, 2024. If selected, you will be notified in October and expected to submit a full paper by April 1, 2025.

Questions about the Global Summit may be directed to careworknetwork2025@gmail.com

🚨📆🚨REGISTRATION FOR THE 4TH GLOBAL CAREWORK NETWORK SUMMIT IS NOW OPEN 🚨📆🚨

The Fourth Global Carework Summit will bring together scholars, policymakers, and care activists from all over the world. We recognize the deep global inequalities in terms of income, institutional support, and citizenship status. We have also considered inequalities between regular faculty, students and those with contingent contracts (such as postdoctoral researchers, researchers on short term contracts or sessional instructors). We have thus created the following tiered registration fee structure. 

• Global North regular faculty: $380
• Global South regular faculty: $100
• Global North student or contingent contract: $100
• Global South student or contingent contract: $50
• Remote participation: $20

These fees include a reception with food and drinks on the first evening of the conference, lunch and coffee on the second and third days, admission to all summit events, and Internet access provided by Duke University. Registration costs are in U.S. dollars. These early-bird fees will go up after March 15, 2025 by 20%. Please note, we will not be able to provide reimbursements for fees.

REGISTER NOW

We have other initiatives to help mitigate the impact of inequalities on people’s ability to participate in this event. Duke Global has offered support to reimburse the non-refundable visa application fee. To receive this reimbursement, you must apply by December 15, We also have created a registration waiver application process for those in need of it. Information on how to apply for both of these initiatives will be sent with the letter of acceptance of your presentation. We also hope to be able to cover a limited number of travel grants. 

If you are able to pay more than your registration category amount, please consider sponsoring a student. This option will be available at the registration checkout page.

Lodging Options

We have a range of lodging options for different budgets, including university dorms and hotels with shared rooms within a 20-minute walking or bus ride of where the conference will take place.

1) On-campus housing:  

The dorms are the most economical lodging. One must stay at least 3 nights and pay a one-time linen fee of $90 per person. This comes to a total of: 

• Single room: $57.30/night * 3 nights + $90 = $261.90
• Shared room: $46/person/night * 3 nights + $90/person = $456 (OR $228 per person)

**There is no additional tax on the rooms. The dorms also come with a mandatory declining-balance meal plan of $41.60/day, which your conference registration will cover for two days. 

2) Off-campus housing:

Please consider that there is an additional tax of 13.5% for hotel rooms. 

Downtown Durham:

• Unscripted Durham Hotel:  $159/night. Book here for the conference rate.

Near Duke East Campus:

• Hilton Garden Inn:  $169/night. Book here for the conference rate.
• Marriott Residence Inn: $159/night. Book here for the conference rate.

Transportation from the airport to the place of accommodation

The closest airport is Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). The best option is to take a taxi or a ride-share service that stops at the airport exit or reserve one in advance. If you would like to book in advance the official yellow cab, you can call the number provided in this webpage: https://www.rdu.com/ground-transportation/taxis/. Please note that fees and payment methods may vary. It is usual to pay once in the taxi and most companies accept credit or debit cards, but it is recommended to check with the company.

Internal bus Duke University

The internal transport of Duke University, namely the C1 East-West shuttle, is free for all people registered in the event. 

In the following link you can find the schedules and follow the route of the internal bus in real time: https://parking.duke.edu/buses/

**Event stop: West Campus