“Pirate Care Syllabus,” https://syllabus.pirate.care/

Abstract

Over the past decade, incidents of state-sponsored punishment have plagued Europe’s Mediterranean borders, specifically criminalizing acts of “care,” such as distribution of contraceptives to women not supported by healthcare systems or the offer of shelter to unhoused populations. In response, Valeria Graziano, Marcell Mars, and Tomislav Medak have convened an international line-up of contributors to assemble the Pirate Care Project. The editors describe Pirate Care as a fundamentally anti-neoliberal concept of community-based “care” initiatives that operate without regard for legality or capitalist power structures; hence, the “pirate” modifier. A fisherman who rescues refugees in the Mediterranean despite the knowledge that they could be fined or arrested once returning to shore has engaged in an act of Pirate Care. Thus, the Pirate Care Project exists in separate, time-limited exhibitions, public talks, a conference that was held at the Center for Postdigital Cultures at Coventry University in 2019, and the Pirate Care Syllabus, which is a website containing resources and exercises structured as an academic syllabus. Claire Elestwani is Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Lamar University mahaclaire@gmail.com