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Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice: Social Justice Social Work, 2nd edition
Rather than a book of theory, this collection of essays focuses on practical strategies for integrating antioppressive theory into politicized, transformative social work. Practice vignettes, personal experiences, and casework examples are provided and assert that everyday interactions with clients from disadvantaged groups can challenge injustice and ultimately transform larger systems of oppression.
- GenresSocial Work
234 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 17, 2023
It was fine...
I read this over the course of a year-and-a-half for an Anti-Oppressive Practice training at work. It's currently a typical kind of study assignment for social workers. I think it's a useful text for individuals entering social work who have little insight into culturally-appropriate care and general social conditions under capitalism.
Like the introduction explains, "AOP is an umbrella term for a number of social justice-oriented approaches to social work, including feminist, Marxist, postmodernist, Indigenous, poststructuralist, critical constructionist, anti-colonial, and anti-racist." These eclectic analyses are at times mutually exclusive, such as postmodernist vs. Marxist philosophy. Generally, the textbook is a liberal mish-mash of what is considered "radical" social theory.
I feel like for me personally, the rating is more of a 2, but I think it can be a useful book for people who had taken standard American education as straight facts and need a different perspective. Yet I also think that it's philosophically confusing and provides conflicting theories, some of which are backwards.
I read this over the course of a year-and-a-half for an Anti-Oppressive Practice training at work. It's currently a typical kind of study assignment for social workers. I think it's a useful text for individuals entering social work who have little insight into culturally-appropriate care and general social conditions under capitalism.
Like the introduction explains, "AOP is an umbrella term for a number of social justice-oriented approaches to social work, including feminist, Marxist, postmodernist, Indigenous, poststructuralist, critical constructionist, anti-colonial, and anti-racist." These eclectic analyses are at times mutually exclusive, such as postmodernist vs. Marxist philosophy. Generally, the textbook is a liberal mish-mash of what is considered "radical" social theory.
I feel like for me personally, the rating is more of a 2, but I think it can be a useful book for people who had taken standard American education as straight facts and need a different perspective. Yet I also think that it's philosophically confusing and provides conflicting theories, some of which are backwards.
January 2, 2019
The articles contained within are of varying quality. Unfortunately, a common theme throughout is that often times there is not a lot of social justice work to be done from within the agency. Subverting policy without bosses knowing when you feel like you can get away with it is hardly a recipe for substantive change. However, some of the articles are real gems. There's one about gambling addiction in the Chinese-Canadian community that struck me as what the rest of the book wanted to be like. Worth the read for social workers interested in critical theory and its application to real life work.
October 14, 2020
Some of the articles are more interesting and useful than others, so pick and choose what you read! However I found reading the book as a whole to be very worthwhile as we
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews