scholarly journals Honoring Our Ancestors

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 259-273
Author(s):  
Jennifer McCleary ◽  
Estelle Simard
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
White Women ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Work History ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
Social Work History

The US social work profession has historically claimed primarily middle-class white women as the "founders" of the profession, including Jane Addams and Mary Richmond. Scholarship of the history of the profession has focused almost entirely on settlement houses, anti-poverty advocacy, and charity in the late 1800s in the northeastern United States as the groundwork of current social work practice. Courses in social work history socialize students into this historical framing of the profession and perpetuate a white supremacist narrative of white women as the primary doers of social justice work that colonizes the bodies and knowledge of Indigenous people and their helping systems. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the US have always had indigenous systems of social care. Yet, the social justice work of BIPOC, and especially Indigenous people in the US, is left out of the dominant narrative of the history of social work practice for several reasons including racism, colonialism, and white supremacy. In this paper the authors contribute to the critique of the role of white supremacy as a colonizing process in social work history narratives and discuss frameworks for decolonizing social work pedagogy through a reconciliatory practice that aims to dismantle white supremacy.

scholarly journals Confronting Historical White Supremacy in Social Work Education and Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 636-653
Author(s):  
Zoila Del-Villar
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
White Women ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Formation ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Work Education

Oftentimes, social work education is in denial of its seductive and pervasive relationship with White Supremacy, as if it is exempt in power relations rooted in racial formation. The present paper investigates the historical legacy of racial formation within the United States context and its inception in the field of social work. This paper provides comprehensive definitions of the key terms used in teaching social work practice from an anti-racist social justice lens. Whiteness theory is used to highlight the way social work has perpetuated White Supremacy in the evolution of the profession and Black feminist standpoint is used to examine the experiences of non-White women as they interface with racist and oppressive social systems. I advocate for the use of a social justice pedagogy in social work education to help students think critically and reflectively about their future practice to better understand the oppressive power structures in many of today’s agencies, organizations, and institutions.  

scholarly journals Post 9-11 Terror Hysteria: Social Work Practice and The US Patriot Act

10.18060/169 ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred H. Besthorn
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Patriot Act ◽  
Potential Implication ◽  
The Us ◽  
Important Challenge ◽  
History Of ◽  
Work Education

It was only weeks after the planes crashed into the twin towers on that bright, sunlit morning of September 11th, 200l, that it became apparent that the most important challenge now facing American democracy was how well would we strike a balance between liberty and security. This paper will look at the history of civil liberties in light of threats to national security. It will examine components of the US Patriot Act, how these provisions are being applied and the potential implication of the act on social work education and practice. Suggestions of how social work might respond to these new realities will be discussed.

scholarly journals Centering Social Justice in Mental Health Practice: Epistemic Justice and Social Work Practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152110109
Author(s):  
Marjorie Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Policy Advocacy ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Epistemic Justice

This article examines how mental health social work practice can move outside the hegemony of the medical model using approaches that honor the centering of social justice. By using the philosophical analysis of epistemic injustice and the ethics of knowing, I move out of the traditional psychiatric and psychological conceptual frameworks and discuss new guiding principles for practice. In the context of the radical tradition in social work and the impetus to blend theory with practice, I consider the use of narrative and anti-oppressive approaches to center social justice principles in individual dyadic work as well as in wider systems family and community work and policy advocacy. I evaluate these approaches through the principles of epistemic justice and discuss the importance of a relational collaborative approach where honoring the client and exploring lived experience are central to both the concepts of testimonial justice, hermeneutic justice and anti-oppressive practice.

Calling Social Work to the Movement for Educational Justice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annahita Ball
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Educational Justice ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Conditions For Learning ◽  
History Of

Abstract The persistent and systemic inequities within the U.S. public education system have grave implications for children’s and youth’s outcomes, yet these inequities go far beyond academics. Marginalized and vulnerable students experience injustices across the educational system, including disproportionality in school discipline, unequal access to advanced courses, and poor conditions for learning. Social work has a solid history of addressing issues that intersect across families, schools, and communities, but the profession has had little engagement in the recent educational justice movement. As educational scholars advance a movement to address educational inequities, it will be increasingly important for social work researchers to provide valuable insight into the multiple components that make up youth development and support positive well-being for all individuals within a democratic society. This article encourages social work researchers to extend lines of inquiry that investigate educational justice issues by situating social work practice and research within educational justice and suggesting an agenda for future social work research that will advance equity for all students.

scholarly journals Exhaustion and possibility. The wor(l)dlyness of social work in (G)local environment worlds during a pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 54-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona B Livholts
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Life Writing ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Writing Genres

Exhaustion is not about being tired. It is an intense feeling of restlessness, of insomnia, and awakening when I ask myself: have I exhausted all that is possible? Such a state of restlessness and wakefulness represents a turning point for having enough, and opens for new possibilities to act for social change. This reflexive essay departs from the notion that the language of exhaustion offers a wor(l)dly possibility for social work(ers) to engage in critical analytical reflexivity about our locations of power from the outset of our (g)local environment worlds. The aim is to trace the transformative possibilities of social change in social work practice through the literature of exhaustion (eg. Frichot, 2019 ; Spooner, 2011 ). The methodology is based on uses of narrative life writing genres such as poetry, written and photographic diary entrances between the 4th of April and 4th of June. The essay shows how tracing exhaustion during the pandemic, visualises a multiplicity of forms of oppression and privilege, an increasing attention and relationship to things, and border movements and languages. I suggest that social work replace the often-used terminology of social problems with exhaustive lists to address structural forms of racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, which has been further visualized through death, illness, violence, and poverty during the pandemic. I argue that the language of exhaustion is useful for reflexivity and action in social work practice through the way it contributes to intensified awareness, attention, engagement, listening, and agency to create social justice.

Art and Social Work: History and Collaborative Possibilities for Interdisciplinary Synergy

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 698-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Burney Nissen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Work History ◽  
Psychology Education ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Individual Family ◽  
History Of ◽  
Social Work History ◽  
Current Potential

This article will stretch the boundaries of the interdisciplinary lens to consider the history of and current potential for the arts to enhance, advance, and amplify individual, family, and community social change goals of the social work profession. To begin, consider the following questions: What would inspire artists and social workers to intentionally work together to reveal new strengths, energy, and capacity in the areas we care about? What do the arts have to teach the profession of social work and vice versa? How have the arts already played a role in the profession, and what has impaired social work’s ability to make greater use of the strengths associated with the arts? How have other professions (public health, psychology, education, and others) incorporated partnerships with the arts? This article concludes with a call to action to advance the potential of the arts in coordination with social work and related disciplines.

Positioning Social Justice: Reclaiming Social Work’s Organising Value

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1652-1668
Author(s):  
Dassi Postan-Aizik ◽  
Corey S Shdaimah ◽  
Roni Strier
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Core Value

Abstract This article explores the value of social justice as a shared ethical ground for social workers worldwide. Constructions and interpretations of social justice are deeply affected by different perspectives, contested positions and unequal power dynamics. As societies become ever more diversified, these may hinder the centrality of social justice as a core value. Drawing on data collected from participants in a binational interprofessional seminar on social justice in multi-cultural societies, this qualitative study is based on interviews and visual analysis with 16 American and 15 Israeli social workers and social work students. Findings suggest that social justice remains a core value although it is both an organising and disorganising, unifying and dividing concept. The study explores the positive contribution of positionality to help gain a broader understanding of social justice and navigate challenges in implementation, practice and education in diverse and conflicted settings. Practical implications for social work practice and education are discussed.

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