The Physical and Emotional Labour of Caregiving in Eighteenth-Century Britain and America

My research would explore the physical and emotional labour involved in caregiving for disabled and chronically ill
people in Britain and North America in the eighteenth century. It would approach caregiving as a form of labour, analyse
the effects of this labour on caregivers, and aim to shed light on whether they saw their work as labour, an expression of
love or altruism, or something in between. The eighteenth century shift towards institutional care in both America and
Britain provides an interesting focal point from which to examine the role of the caregiver in each country. My research
will draw upon scholarship within the historiographies of disability, labour, maternal care, gender, race, class and
emotions, and interact with other disciplines such as disability and gender studies, sociology and health and social care.
It will analyse a variety of sources - principally the letters and diaries of caregivers and sick and disabled people and
institutional reports from hospitals, almshouses and asylums. The questions posed by the current strain on both
institutional and domestic social care and caregivers make this research even more timely. Understanding approaches
and responses to caregiving across time and recognising caregiving as a form of labour will inform both contemporary
issues and the historiographies of disability, gender, health, British and American history.