The return of the political in social work

Mel Gray*, Stephen A. Webb

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article is a follow-up to our article 'Revisiting social work as art' and in part a response to Karen Healy's reply [both published in IJSW 17(2)]. It is, however, also a significant extension of this material since it engages with more general concerns about the critical project that is intrinsic to social work. Social work is not just about self-foundation based on knowledge, values and skills formation, but also about self-assertion. Crucially, it is through this notion of self-assertion that social work can be best understood as an agent of change. This transformative aspect of social work is our central focus. We are not concerned with structural conditions of power and domination but with theorising what a transformative politics would look like for social work using the lens of the French political philosopher Alain Badiou as a conceptual medium for permitting the return of the political for social work.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)111-115
Number of pages5
JournalInternational Journal of Social Welfare
Volume18
Issue number1
Early online date5 Dec 2008
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Badiou
  • Nature of social work
  • Ontology of social work
  • Psychologism
  • Social work as art

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

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