What should social work learn from 'the fire of social movements that burns at the heart of society'?

Harms Smith, Linda

Abstract

That social work should be 'on the side of the poor and the oppressed' in the context of the ubiquitous and increasingly pernicious consequences of global neoliberal capitalism, demands a differently engaged practice (Dominelli, 2004; Ferguson and Lavalette, 2006; Ferguson, 2008; Reisch, 2013; Sewpaul, 2013). This requires 'greater system destabilising and social change efforts, and not the traditional social control and status-quo-maintaining functions of social work' (Sewpaul, 2013: 23). The struggles for social and economic justice waged by global and local social movements may therefore provide insights and impetus for such 'differently engaged' radical and transformative practice. This article explores the processes and strategies of two South African social movements and suggests that social work should incorporate some of the discourses of these movements for expansion of its theoretical base for transformation and social change.

Citation

SMITH, L.H. 2015. What should social work learn from 'the fire of social movements that burns at the heart of society'? Critical and radical social work [online], 3(1), pages 19-34. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1332/204986015X14226342177835

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 1, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Mar 1, 2015
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Apr 6, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 6, 2018
• Journal: Critical and radical social work
• Print ISSN: 2049-8608
• Electronic ISSN: 2049-8675
• Publisher: Policy Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 19-34
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/204986015X14226342177835
• Keywords: Social movements theory; South Africa
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/2865
• Contract Date: Apr 6, 2018