The Routledge Handbook of Postcolonial Social Work reflects on and dissects the challenging issues confronting social work practice and education globally in the post-colonial era. By analysing how countries in the so-called developing and developed world have navigated some of the inherited systems from the colonial era, it shows how they have used them to provide relevant social work methods which are also responsive to the needs of a postcolonial setting. This is an analytical and reflexive handbook that brings together different scholars from various parts of the world - both North and South - so as to distill ideas from scholars relating to ways that can advance social work of the South and critique social work of the North in so far as it is used as a template for social work approaches in postcolonial settings. It determines whether and how approaches, knowledge-bases, and methods of social work have been indigenised and localised in the Global South in the postcolonial era. This handbook provides the reader with multiple new theoretical approaches and empirical experiences and creates a space of action for the most marginalised communities worldwide. It will be of interest to researchers and practitioners, as well as those in social work education.
Author(s): Tanja Kleibl, Ronald Lutz, Ndangwa Noyoo; Dittmann Annika, Benjamin Bunk, Boitumelo Seepamore
Series: Routledge International Handbooks
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 362
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of Contributors
Introduction: Setting the scene for critical new social work approaches in the neoliberal postcolonial era
Social work and decolonisation
The Global South, Marxist–Leninist and neoliberal agendas in the postcolonial era
Social work’s foreign origins
Scope and nature of the book
References
Part I Postcolonial social work
1 Colonisation as collective trauma: Fundamental perspectives for social work
Introduction
Ongoing coloniality
Psycho-political impact of colonisation
Understanding collective trauma
Intergenerational transmission of trauma
Social work as an instrument of coloniality
Conclusion: social work response to the collective trauma of colonisation
Reflexivity, critical consciousness and emancipatory practice
Response to collective trauma
Decoloniality in social work
Decolonising social work research
References
2 The relevance of Antonio Gramsci and Paulo Freire for a postcolonial education politics
Introduction2
Beyond the economic: cultural and religious aspects of power
Divide et impera and the conquistador mentality
Fear of freedom
The language question
Conclusion
Notes
References
3 Colonialism and the colonisation of childhoods in the light of postcolonial theory
Introduction
Colonialisation as a childhood project
Colonisation of childhoods
Starting points in the decolonisation of childhoods
Notes
References
4 Social work co-option and colonial borders
Introduction
Asylum seeking in Australia
Colonial borderlands
The impact of colonial practices
Export of neocolonial detention
Entry of social work
Social work and anti-colonial practices
Conclusion
References
5 Development. A postcolonial approach
Development: knowledge of ethnology
Development from the outside: the fall of the colonial modernity
The utopia of reflexive development: a philosophy of hope and the good life
Human development: dialogue and negotiation
Practice of reflexive development: postcolonial social work of the South
Bibliography
Part II Postcolonial social work and social movements
7 Conceptualising postcolonial social work and social movements: Subaltern answers from within exclusion and the theoretical...
Introduction
Ambiguities of postcolonial social work in the South and North
The dilemma of (postcolonial) critique and (social work) practice
Answers from within and the hope for subaltern social movements
Notes
References
8 Orientations from social movements: A postcolonial feminist social work perspective on human trafficking
Introduction
Human trafficking and modern slavery
The anti-trafficking movement in the US
The global impact of anti-trafficking initiatives
Critiques of the anti-trafficking movement
Towards a postcolonial feminist social work perspective
Globalisation, global inequality and interlocking forms of oppression
Globalisation and work
Global supply chains
Globalisation, NGOs, workers and markets
Anti-immigration racism
Discourse on women of the Global South
Collective resistance to human trafficking
New strategies and partnerships
Trade unions as partners
Survivors as partners
Conclusion: social workers as stronger allies
References
9 Epistemic decoloniality as a pedagogical movement: A turn to anticolonial theorists such as Fanon, Biko and Freire
Introduction
Social work education: origins and ideologies
Colonisation of power, knowledge and being
Epistemic decoloniality: towards basic concepts and categories
Understanding colonisation
Excursus: on the role of white liberals
Humanisation
Conscientisation
Dialogue and problematisation
Conclusion
Notes
References
10 Heterogeneity of social movements addressing the intersections of gender and race: A reflection on feminisms and womanisms...
Introduction
Schools of thought more aligned with feminist movements
Black feminisms
African feminisms
Schools of thought more aligned with women’s movements
Womanisms
Africana womanisms
Nego-feminism
African feminisms and/or Africana womanisms?
Conclusion
References
11 Collective learning in and from social movements: The Bhopal Disaster survivors
Introduction
Social work and social movements in a neoliberal era
Social movement learning
The Bhopal Survivors’ Movement
Social movement process: from hidden resistance to militancy
Education through making connections: building a counter-hegemony
Reflections for social work from informal collective learning in the survivors’ movement
Acknowledgements
References
12 Social movements as pedagogical spaces: ‘Só lixo – just waste’, or: about the transformation of normative orientations under
Introduction
The outer constitution of pedagogical spaces – the economic, social, and cultural dimensions of the waste realm and the Movimen
A case from Porto Alegre – I: from the governmentality of inclusion to the local politicisation of pedagogical spaces
A case from Porto Alegre – II: intertwining biographical plausibility and social evidence
Anna
Alexandra
Conclusion: self-formation processes under conditions of change and the transformation of normative orientations in socialisato
Notes
References
Part III Indigenisation
13 Latin American social work and the struggles against professional imperialism
Introduction
Professional imperialism in the development of Latin American social work
Decolonial thought as resistance against neocolonial approaches
Learning from Sumak Kawsay and Mapuche philosophies in social work
Conclusion
Notes
References
14 We are beauty and we walk in it: Native American women in leadership roles
Introduction
Traditional roles of Native American women: precolonial times through the American revolution
Colonisation and the undermining of Native American women
The persistence of strong roles for Native American women
A resurgence of political power
Moving forward with decolonised gender roles and models of leadership
Conclusion
References
15 Liberation from mental colonisation: A case study of the Indigenouspeople of Palestine
Introduction
The context of Palestine
Colonisation before 1948
Colonisation after 1948
How to get over mental colonisation
Looking forward
Acknowledgements
References
16 Border thinking and socialwork – is it possible?: A decolonial perspective of a case example
Border thinking and social work: a theoretical approach
Border thinking – an epistemic thread/ clue in the social work
Conclusion and perspectives
Notes
References
17 Whose society, whose work?: Seeking decolonised social work in Nepal
Introduction
Framing the subject matter: a grounded theory approach
Findings and discussion
Understanding of Nepali society
Conclusion: decolonised, developmental Nepali social work
References
18 The relevance and purpose of social work in Aboriginal Australia – post- or decolonisation
Introduction
Australia as a colonial space
Social work and Indigenous peoples
Doing things differently: The Looking Forward Project
Disrupting and reforming paradigms
Creating an inclusive work practice that works for Nyoongar people
Moving beyond borders: understanding reciprocity
What is the role for social work in this new paradigm?
Conclusion
References
19 Women’s empowermentUnravelling the cultural incompatibilitymyth in Zimbabwe
Conceptualising empowerment
Women in Africa: a cultural overview
Empowering women among disempowered men
Conclusion: empowerment as a negotiated cultural outcome
Notes
References
20 Pushing for autonomousAfrican development
Introduction
Background
The link between knowledge and development
What is development?
From Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
What about Indigenous Knowledge Systems?
Development theory and practice and IKS nexus
Solutions and recommendations
Future research directions
Conclusion
References
Part IV Case studies and innovation from Africa
21 Decolonising social work practice and social work education in postcolonial Africa
Introduction
Human needs and social work
Decolonisation
What is social work?
The beginning of social work in Africa
Indigenous Knowledge Systems for relevant social work practice
Conclusion
References
22 Social work with communities in Uganda: Indigenous and innovative approaches
Introduction: the colonial legacy of social work in Africa and the need for indigenisation
Common social problems confronting communities in Uganda
Community social work and indigenous models of problem-solving in Uganda
The Bataka groups as an approach to community organisation and development
Conclusion
Notes
References
23 Social work in Southern Africa in the postcolonial era: Rekindling debate on the quest for relevance
Introduction
Perceived source of shortcomings of the remedial approach
Calls for a paradigm shift: towards a developmental approach
Beyond the rhetoric: reality on the ground
The case for the social development perspective: lessons from the River Story
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgement
References
24 Postcolonial dimensions of social work in the Central African Republic and its impact on the life of hunter-gatherer childre
Introduction
The colonial and postcolonial contexts of social work in Central Africa
Missionary social work
Social work in developmental and humanitarian aid projects
Activities within the local hunter-gatherer community
Conclusion
Notes
References
25 A collaborative partnership as an effective model of social work – a case from Alexandra township in South Africa
Introduction and background
Asset-based community development
Profile of Alexandra township
The Alex model of foster care
Project activities: screening and involvement
The involvement of foster parents and service providers
Welcome packs
‘I am because we are, and because we are, I am’
Group work with foster children
Collaboration with other social service providers
The Alexandra Service Providers’ Forum (ASPF)
Could this model work elsewhere?
Lessons learnt and recommendations
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
26 Decolonisation and indigenisation of social work: An imperative for holistic social work services to vulnerable...
Introduction: context and background to social work in South Africa
Decolonisation
Indigenisation
Decolonisation and indigenisation within social work
Decolonising and indigenising social work education
Conclusion
References
27 Decolonisation of community development in South Africa
Introduction and background
Decolonisation of social welfare and community development in South Africa
Decolonisation and the role of civil society movements in South Africa
Postcolonial failures and the challenge of coloniality
What is colonisation and why is it important in the context of community development?
Decolonialising approaches to community development practice
Conclusion
References
28 The search for relevance: Social work supervision in a social development approach in South Africa
Introduction
Unpacking social work supervision
Social work supervision in the South African context
Locating supervision in social work practice
The emergence of the social development approach in South Africa: a case of decolonising social work and social...
Emerging issues from the empirical research
Conclusion
Note
References
Conclusion: Problems, challenges and the way forward within social work systems
Decoloniality and theories of transformation
References
Index
