300457 Care, Capitalism, and Crisis: Political Economy of Social Reproduction (S) (SoSe 2026)

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Care, sometimes described as “love labor,” is often treated as part of the private sphere. Yet as women’s labor force participation has risen, care has increasingly become a public concern, visible in low fertility and growing needs for long-term care, often discussed as a global care crisis. Feminist scholars argue that care work, performed largely by women, has always been essential to societies (just like paid labor) while being historically undervalued and frequently subject to state regulation. The rise of capitalism contributed to the devaluation of unpaid care: housewives were excluded from labor statistics, and domestic labor was framed as secondary to wage work, compensated only indirectly through the male breadwinner’s wage. States also helped institutionalize hierarchies between paid and unpaid labor, reflected in persistent wage penalties in feminized occupations such as domestic work. In response, women mobilized both for equal workplace rights and for recognition of “difference,” including demands to value and compensate domestic labor through measures such as housewife allowances. Yet the extent to which states have rewarded, regulated, or supported care has varied sharply across countries and historical periods. This seminar examines how capitalism and state institutions have shaped the status of care, and why policy responses to care have diverged over time and across countries.

Teaching staff

Dates ( Calendar view )

Frequency Weekday Time Format / Place Period  
weekly Di 16-18 X-E0-200 13.04.-24.07.2026

Subject assignments

Module Course Requirements  
29-WS-GSG Global Structures and Governance Globale Ordnungen und Governance Research seminar Study requirement
Graded examination
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30-M-PW-M3 Public Policy, Governance, and Regulation Public Policy, Governance und Regulierung Public Policy, Governance und Regulierung a Study requirement
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Public Policy, Governance und Regulierung b Study requirement
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- Graded examination Student information
30-M-Soz-M5a Political Sociology a Politische Soziologie a Seminar 1 Study requirement
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Seminar 2 Study requirement
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- Graded examination Student information
30-M-Soz-M5b Political Sociology b Politische Soziologie b Seminar 1 Study requirement
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Seminar 2 Study requirement
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- Graded examination Student information
30-M-Soz-M5c Political Sociology c Politische Soziologie c Seminar 1 Study requirement
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Seminar 2 Study requirement
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- Graded examination Student information
30-WS-GTI Global Trade and Inequality Globaler Handel und Ungleichheit Research seminar Study requirement
Graded examination
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SS2026_300457@ekvv.uni-bielefeld.de
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Last update basic details/teaching staff:
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 
Last update times:
Monday, February 16, 2026 
Last update rooms:
Monday, February 16, 2026 
Type(s) / SWS (hours per week per semester)
seminar (S) / 2
Language
This lecture is taught in english
Department
Faculty of Sociology
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ID
636407866