The limits of care: lines, refrains, becomings

Refugee migration sets in motion many geographies. Where do refugees belong? Who is responsible for the safety, welfare and happiness of migrants seeking refuge? And what constitutes a ‘right and proper’ response to refugee migration? In this thesis, I explore one civic organisation’s approach to answering these questions. LocalHouse is an independent and ‘volunteer-powered’ organisation that provides what might be described as ‘settlement support’ to refugees arriving in Wattle City. The aim, for LocalHouse, is not only to overcome the ‘barriers’ to settlement, but to develop a sense that one is home and that one belongs in the city. Drawing on interviews with 17 volunteers and techniques in researcher participation, in this thesis I ask: What makes care possible? In other words, how are the ‘limits’ of care produced? And what does care make possible? Or what kinds of transformations might occur when these limits are exceeded? To approach these questions, I draw on the geophilosophy of Deleuze and Guattari to build an immanent ontology of care—what I refer to as ‘assemblages of care.’ Across four analytical chapters, I then develop insights into how these assemblages are produced, exceeded and refashioned.