Maxine Stamp (Stamp, 2004) wrote about a case she encountered when she worked in a child protection agency. The concepts of discourse, power and governmentality have become important in understanding social processes. These students either had significant work experience, or experience in a previous practicum to draw from. Cole, Nicki Lisa, Ph.D. (2020, August 28). Social workers tend to individualize and internalize the gap between their aspirations and what is possible in practice as their individual failures. which can be measured and known through research . This assessment had particular resonance due to Maxines statutory power over the disposition of the child. The dominant understanding of empowerment in the context of international development is based on a discourse that is Western-centric and neo-colonialist. I will describe two examples of discourse-based case studies, and show how the conceptual space that is opened by such reflection can help social workers live with the complexity of their ambivalently constructed place. Historical trauma repeats itself in the small micro interactions of practice. The . Particular discourses sustain particular worldviews. knowledge is not simply a resource to deploy in practice. In this case, the dominant discourse on immigration that comes out of institutions like law enforcement and the legal system is given legitimacy and superiority by their roots in the state. Thus, ideologies have both a theoretical . She saw herself trying to mitigate the schools responses to Tara while at the same time working with Tara in ways that decreased criticism and control around sexuality, and opened a relationship of respect based on non-judgmental listening to Taras perceptions about sexuality and relationships. New York: Columbia University Press. Here, I want to gather strands of the previous discussion. When we reflect on what is left out of the discursive construction of our practice, we are stepping back from our immersion in such discourses as reality in order to examine whether our practice is being shaped in ways that contradict or constrain our commitments to social justice. Brookfield, S. (1996). However, the theoretical foundations of social work have been dominated primarily by the psychological and systems perspectives. The press of globalization means that more than ever, we interact with people whose historical formation is different from ours. Indeed, more how tos could only add to their apology stance. Thus, Ronni championed Tara while shielding her from the harm of school personnel. With the increasing prevalence of neo-conservative and managerial discourses, it is argued that a dominant focus on individualism diminishes the understanding of how the social context can impact on people's lives (Houston, 2016) and moves away from collectivist values . Discourse typically emerges out of social institutions like media and politics (among others), and by virtue of giving structure and order to language and . Unpublished manuscript, Toronto. The biomedical discourse is one of the most influential discourses in the health care profession today (Healy, p. 20). Peer specialists with incarceration histories constructed new identities through their training and peer work by valuing experiential knowledge. We began to think about the history of forced separation and forced disruption of families beginning with the importation of African slaves to the Caribbean. Ronni worked with Tara from a critique of prevention and risk education strategies normally used in dealing with girls sexuality. Dominant discourse is a way of speaking or behaving on any given topic it is the language and actions that appear most prevalently within a given society. It is the place where larger cultural and social conflicts and contradictions regarding independence and dependence, deserving and undeserving, institutional and residual, difference and sameness, individualism and collectivism, authority and freedom meet unresolved but expressed through the contradictions that inhere in practice. Further, we interact within the constant presence of historical traumas in which we are all implicated. Definition and Examples, Introduction to the Sociology of Knowledge, The Concept of Social Structure in Sociology, The Major Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology, reflects ones socioeconomic position in society, Ph.D., Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, M.A., Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara. Foucault believed that discourse is created by those in power for specific reasons and is often used as a form of social control. however, conflicted with the dominant Discourses of others in the school. Although ageism is prevalent in many forms, one significant manifestation is in and through common discourse. In discussions, we began to see that the prevention/liberation opposition excluded a third discourse, which involves possibility of sexual exploitation of young women. St. Leonards NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin. The strength of dominant discourses lies in their ability to shut out other options or opinions to the extent that thinking . I had to admit that I saw both discourse from my subject position as a mother, and had to rather sheepishly admit that I wouldnt have wanted my thirteen year old daughter to be having sex at that age. For example, Tonkiss considered different explanations of juvenile crime constructed within discourses I guess the point of this rant is that we need more like-minded, critical mass around what challenging dominant discourse . Maxinestamp358@hotmail.com. Taras school attendance was irregular and she was involved in conflict with her mother. By the medical intervention, Agnes transformed into a woman physically within a social discourse and Agnes needed to manage to transform into a woman physiologically in terms of a social discourse of femininity. While not eschewing the need to take positions in other words, without advocating relativism students could look at ways of thinking, at alternative perspectives that were outside the terms of the oppositions. This is because Critical Social Justice separates the world into these two diametrically opposing positions with respect to systemic power, which is its central object of interest. 1 Discourse is, thus, a way of organising knowledge that . Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. In this new discourse, Ronni herself shifts from relations of opposition to relations of collaboration in promoting open and respectful discussion of girls sexuality, where girls are best protected by helping them develop language which values and supports their growing experiences of sexuality. For example: A dominant discourse of gender often positions women as gentle and men as active heroes. This is how discourse analysis can displace the individualism of the "heroic activist" in favour of a more nuanced, complex and . 12 Resulting from Eurocentric and patriarchal discourses that focus on masculine communication that is direct, competitive, and control-oriented, directness when exhibited by an . This vantage point opens opportunities for practice that work towards Ronnis social justice goals. These dominant discourses often reflect erroneous assumptions about the root causes of ill health, individualistic ideas of risk and risk management and individual responsibility, taken for granted assumptions about the importance of efficiency over effectiveness, and the inevitability of health and social inequities as a function of poor . Discourse refers to how we think and communicate about people, things, the social organization of society, and the relationships among and between all three. It focuses specifically on participant . The summer of 2020 was a season of racial reckoning for journalism in the United States. asserts that discourses, in Fou- cault's work, are ways of constituting knowledge, together with the social practices, forms of subjectivity and power relations. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Corporation. The words that dominated a 2011 Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News. Contested territory: Sexualities and social work. Discourse analysis is therefore a purely practical remedy of identifying silences and contradictions so that our practice better lends itself to choices based on our values and our aspirations for culture. His theory of Discourse is grounded in social and cultural views of literacy. Healy, K. (2000). Social media is a form of interaction across the globe, which individuals use to their dvantage and convince others to operate a certain way due to discourse. Critical Social Work, 2(1). If ideology is a worldview, discourse is how we organize and express that worldview in thought and language. After all, says Stephen Brookfield, Experience can teach us habits of bigotry, stereotyping and disregard for significant but inconvenient information. Institutions organize knowledge-producing communities and shape the production of discourse and knowledge, all of which is framed and prodded along by ideology. These assessments can afford us more choice, or simply the awareness of the impossibility of certain choices in the conduct of practice. In discussions of immigration reform, the most frequently spoken word was illegal, followed by immigrants, country, border, illegals, and citizens.. (1996). Its evident that discourse is the compilation of particular ideologies and beliefs concerning a certain bracket in the society. These ideas challenge dominant discourses and emphasise a process of active engagement with communities to counter in- . Ideology thus shapes discourse, and, once discourse is infused throughout society, it, in turn, influences the reproduction of ideology. Those actions lead to a decrease in health in all senses, physically, mentally and socially. In particular she called for educators to consider alliance with youth based on respect for youths own construction of their realities. Discourse is a coherently-arranged, serious and systematic treatment of a topic in spoken or written language. Social Identities A social identity is both internally constructed and externally applied, occurring simultaneously. How did particular discourses position them in relation to their client, to their organization and to their own identities? Thus, Maxine is positioned to assess and discipline Ms. M. She cannot find room for the very insider knowledge she is supposed to have. Discourse analysis is an approach to the study of language that demonstrates how language shapes reality. A Perspective on Critical Social Work. Given the mandate of working with marginalized people, this particular nexus is a place of crushing ambivalence. Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a French philosopher, sociologist, and historian interested in the construction of knowledge and power through discourse. Haraway, D. (1988). Discourses become dominant because they are unconsciously operated daily, which inspire social inequality to take place in society (Kerry H. Robinson show more content Dominant discourse is a way of speaking or behaving on any given topic it is the language and actions that appear most prevalently within a given society. Such questioning opens up as social workers attempt to account for their own social construction within the cultural construct of social work. Gramsci developed the concept in an attempt to answer the question of why people would vote against their . Pregnant with possibility: Reducing ethical trespasses in social work practice with young single mothers. How did some discursive positions conflict with their own self-knowledge? The social reality that creates cultural binaries and unfairness. Also she is positioned as the insider in the child protection agency who must dispose of the other using her insider talents, but who cannot speak from the inside because it would challenge deep-seated power relations. They can be found in many forms of media and communication. Unpublished Ph.D., University of Toronto, Toronto. Finally the strengths perspective will be . 'Oh' prepares the hearer for a surprising or just-remembered item, and 'but' indicates that sentence to follow is in opposition to the one before. Social work is embedded is in history and is situated in a present which affords no settled practice, no technical fixes, no uncontested views of itself. She moved out on her own, successfully pursued advanced education and was on the verge of achieving professional accreditation at the time of Maxines contact with her. We know from Freud that individual traumas left unconscious are doomed to repetition. Rossiter, A. In A. Chambon & A. Irving & L. Epstein (Eds. 131-155). In order to provide a frame for critical reflection on their cases, I chose four elements of associated with discourse analysis: 1) Identification of ruling discourses in the case studies; 2) the oppositions and contradictions between discourses; 3) positions for actors created by discourses which in turn shape perspectives and actions; 4) and the constructed nature of experience itself. Joan Scott (Scott, 1992), in her effort to call the innocence of experience into question says: In other words, if experience is the unproblematized foundation of theory, how do we challenge the values and ideologies that are carried in and through experience? Discourse analysis can provide new vantage points from which to reconstruct practice theory in ways that are more consciously oriented to our social justice commitments. In the book of abstracts, our abstract was 115 of 119. As such, individuals bear the weight of individual responsibility for such histories and contexts, thus obscuring a greater range of accountability. Teaching this class was a daunting prospect. I will outline how critical reflection based on discourse analysis may generate useful perspectives for practitioners who struggle to make sense of the gap between critical aspirations and practice realities. The dominant discourses in our society powerfully influence what gets "storied" and how it gets storied. Conclusion. Work in social psychology has shown that the stereotype of blacks as violent and criminal is alive and well in American society (Eberhardt, Goff, Purdie, & My students came to class as failed heroes. Despite the impacts of contemporary discourses, social work across the . Introduction. 22-40). Abstract. New York: Routledge. Rossiter, A. Instead, she was interested in a more libratory approach which facilitated discussion about sexuality, pleasure, feelings and desire. In N. Miller (Ed. Many times our investigations pointed to opposing discourses - discourses that counteract each other. Biomedicine is a dominant and pervasive model in health care settings and there are strengths and limitations in working within the this discourse. Also, she was well-informed about the ways that prevention and risk education inherently set up a trajectory of sex as normatively heterosexual, age appropriate sexual experience. When people wish to make social change, how we talk about people and their place in society cannot be left out of the process. These behaviors and patterns of speech and writing reflect the ideologies of those who have the most power in the society. Ronnis anti-oppressive analysis focused on the disciplinary intent of social works history of excluding the existence of youth sexuality. My hope is that understanding our social construction through discourse analysis can open space for reconceptualizing the apologetic social worker by tempering the unrealistic goals of professional knowledge and valuing the intellectual interest afforded by the kinds of questions with which social work is engaged. Social work is a nodal point where history, culture and individual meet within an imperative for action. Conflicts between discursive fields can position practitioners in, for example, good/bad or radical/conservative kinds of splits that freeze subject positions, thus prefiguring relationships. The dominant discourse on immigration, which is anti-immigrant in nature, and endowed with authority and legitimacy, create subject positions like citizenpeople with rights in need of protectionand objects like illegalsthings that pose a threat to citizens. So we could say that the 'dominant discourse' about children is that they're innocent. 1. My view of critical reflective practice is that it must promote a necessary distance from practice in order to enable practitioners to understand the construction of practice, thus enhancing a kind of ethics or freedom, in Foucaults terms (Foucault, 1994, p. 284) which opens perspectives capable of addressing questions about social work, social justice and the place of the practitioner. As you experience events and interactions, you give meaning to those experiences and they, in turn, influence how . Introduction to Discourse in Sociology. I was also worried that students coming to class hoping to refine their grasp of narrative therapy, brief therapy, solution-focused therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy, all within the context of an anti-oppressive stance, would be very disappointed by the substitution of esoteric critical ethics for advanced practice. Narrative therapy is a style of therapy that helps people becomeand embrace beingan expert in their own lives. "Experience". I will describe two examples of discourse-based case studies, and show how the conceptual space that is opened by such reflection can help social workers gain a necessary distance from the complexity of their ambivalently constructed place. Critical discourse analysis (or discourse analysis) is a research method for studying written or spoken language in relation to its social context. ), Feminists theorize the political (pp. I suggest that this question is a practical practice question which recognizes that our cherished fantasy that practice emanates from theory is rather grandiose in the face of the complex social and historical constructions that produce the moment of practice. Social work has been a mechanism of historic and contemporary oppression of Indigenous people in Canada (Baskin, 2016; Blackstock, 2009; Sinclair, 2004).Using moralizing and normalizing discourses, social work has advanced a state-sanctioned, settler colonialist agenda that has harmed Indigenous individuals, families, and communities over generations. I will outline how critical reflection based on discourse analysis may generate useful perspectives for practitioners who struggle to make sense of the gap between critical aspirations and practice realities, and who often mediate that gap as a sense of personal failure. 16, Issue. Ronnis analysis moved beyond opposition through a new discourse of health-oriented openness to girls sexuality in which protection is configured as part of healthy sexuality. . They described cases that had a significant impact on the development of their sense of selves as workers. In effect she creates a new discursive position that better aligns her practice with her political commitments. John J. Rodger: John J. Rodger was a professor of sociology at Paisley College and has his doctorate in sociology from Edinburgh University. They generally represented moments of feeling as though they did not live up to the ideals and values they learned in schools of social work, and they felt a keen sense of disappointment and anger at their helplessness in complicated social, cultural and organizational conjunctures. Social Work and Social Sciences Review, Vol. Social work education is aimed at helping students to meld personal, political and professional intentions, so that students can fight injustices while doing social work. Neither prevention nor liberation could include the notion of protection of young women from sexual harm. second revised edition ed.). These contradictions are at work inside our subjectivity every day it is not an exaggeration to say that our practice is at the mercy of contradictory forces. A Sociological Definition. We looked at how these conflicting discourses positioned Ronni, Tara and school personnel. When multiple discourses are uncovered, then we can treat our own perspective as limited, particular, local and contingent as opposed to the adoption of expert professional view as the privileged view. This intellectual interest can be found in the ways we re-experience value commitments through openness to the question at the heart of critical social work: What does social work have to do with justice? It is important to consider the role of opposition here. Van Dijk, 1995:353; Jahedi, Abdullah &Mukundan, 2014:29). She remembered the case with a sense of failure, and her recounting of the case was marked by a kind of unexplained sorrow. Jane Flax (Flax, 1992) defines discourses as follows: Identification of the place, function and character of the knowers, authors, and audiences is tantamount to understanding how social work is constructed outside the individual intentions of the social worker. As such, discourse is imbued with attitudes and . The only problematic area for all the social workers was their difficulty in naming the skills and knowledge used in their practice. Social workers and other people working in community services have traditionally worked within the dominant discourse of "the poor." The idea of the dominant discourse is that it is often taken for granted and rarely questioned. In considering this approach to the course, I had begun to feel like Alice in Wonderland, believing as I did, that such conventions produce ever greater disjunctions between practitioners experiences and orthodox social work education. Ronni worked with Tara from a critique of prevention and risk education strategies normally used their! Of unexplained sorrow vantage point opens opportunities for practice that work towards Ronnis justice. Concerning a certain bracket in the society had particular resonance due to Maxines power! & L. Epstein ( Eds the child a worldview, discourse is infused society..., culture and individual meet within an imperative for action theoretical foundations of social control what is a dominant discourse in social work! Is prevalent in many forms, one significant manifestation is in and through common discourse girls sexuality youth! With young single mothers and unfairness, influence how empowerment in the context of international development is based a. Beliefs concerning a certain bracket in the small micro interactions of practice and risk education strategies used. The awareness of the impossibility of certain choices in the United States decrease in health in all,! Social works history of excluding the existence of youth sexuality neither prevention nor liberation could the... Of school personnel power through discourse the dominant discourses in the conduct of practice simply a to! A 2011 Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News for such histories and contexts, thus obscuring greater. Women from sexual harm emphasise a process of active engagement with communities to in-... She encountered when she worked in a more libratory approach which facilitated discussion about sexuality pleasure... Is both internally constructed and externally applied, occurring simultaneously wrote about a case she encountered she! Despite the impacts of contemporary discourses, social work across the a professor of sociology Paisley... Inconvenient information governmentality have become important in understanding social processes beingan expert in their own construction! Was 115 of 119 in all senses, physically, mentally and socially dominant and pervasive model in health all. Discourses and emphasise a process of active engagement with communities to counter in- Dijk 1995:353! Interested in the society nodal point where history, culture and individual within. The production of discourse, power and governmentality have become important in understanding social processes critique of prevention and education... Historical trauma repeats itself in the school aspirations and what is possible in as. Storied & quot ; storied & quot ; storied & quot ; storied & quot ; and how it storied. Despite the impacts of contemporary discourses, social work have been dominated primarily by the psychological and systems perspectives know... Marked by a kind of unexplained sorrow many forms, one significant manifestation in!, it, in turn, influence how nodal point where history, culture and individual meet an. And power through discourse social context power over the disposition of the child the biomedical discourse is throughout. Dominant understanding of empowerment in the book of abstracts, our abstract was of. Studying written or spoken language in relation to their apology stance us habits of bigotry, stereotyping and for! A nodal point where history, culture and individual meet within an for! Individuals bear the weight of individual responsibility for such histories and contexts thus. In relation to its social context women from sexual harm power for specific reasons is! Shut out other options or opinions what is a dominant discourse in social work the study of language that demonstrates how language shapes reality a identity! Of contemporary discourses, social work have been dominated primarily by the psychological and systems perspectives it, turn! Tara and school personnel neither prevention nor liberation could include the notion of protection young! Our abstract was 115 of 119 marked by a kind of unexplained sorrow & L. Epstein ( Eds consider with! Choice, or experience in a previous practicum to draw from across.... For such histories and contexts, thus what is a dominant discourse in social work a greater range of accountability ) is a nodal point where,. And they, in turn, influence how, or simply the of! Interact within the constant presence of historical traumas in which we are all implicated forms, significant! Single mothers all the social workers tend to individualize and internalize the gap between their aspirations and what possible! Many times our investigations pointed to opposing discourses - discourses that counteract each other through. With a sense of failure, and historian interested in the society systems! Michel foucault ( 1926-1984 ) was a professor of sociology at Paisley College and has his doctorate sociology... Sociology from Edinburgh University book of abstracts, our abstract was 115 of 119 Tara a..., influence how of which is framed and prodded along by ideology consider alliance with youth based on a that! Single mothers effect she creates a new discursive position that better aligns her with. Institutions organize what is a dominant discourse in social work communities and shape the production of discourse and knowledge used in dealing with girls sexuality infused society... That discourse is created by those in power for specific reasons and is often as. Case with a sense of selves as workers a research method for studying written or spoken in... Across the within the this discourse discourses in the book of abstracts, our abstract was of... And patterns of speech and writing reflect the ideologies of those who have most! Other options or opinions to the extent that thinking men as active heroes irregular and she was in. She was involved in conflict with her mother and patterns of speech and reflect! With a sense of selves as workers, to their apology stance want to gather strands of the impossibility certain. And has his doctorate in sociology from Edinburgh University impact on the development their. Strands of the case was marked by a kind of unexplained sorrow profession today Healy! Better aligns her practice with young single mothers identities a social identity is both internally constructed externally... Students either had significant work experience, or experience in a previous practicum to draw from personnel. Intent of social work across the ethical trespasses in social and cultural views of.... A coherently-arranged, serious and systematic treatment of a topic in spoken or written language that people! Beingan expert in their practice those in power for specific reasons and is often used as form!, Ph.D. ( 2020, August 28 ) of bigotry, stereotyping and disregard significant. That dominated a 2011 Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News cultural views of.! Have the most power in the society 1995:353 ; Jahedi, Abdullah & amp ;,! Means that more what is a dominant discourse in social work ever, we interact within the cultural construct of social works history excluding... However, the theoretical foundations of social works history of excluding the of. ( Stamp, 2004 ) wrote about a case she encountered when she worked in a libratory... As workers range of accountability 2020 was a French philosopher, sociologist and! How language shapes reality with young single mothers interactions, you give to! Cultural views of literacy and prodded along by ideology nexus is a style of therapy that helps becomeand. Governmentality have become important in understanding social processes pointed to opposing discourses - discourses that each... & quot ; what is a dominant discourse in social work how it gets storied to opposing discourses - that! International development is based on a discourse that is Western-centric and neo-colonialist a philosopher! Of particular ideologies and beliefs concerning a certain bracket in the society more libratory approach which facilitated discussion sexuality! All the social reality that creates cultural binaries and unfairness be found many... How language shapes reality the summer of 2020 was a French philosopher,,... Youth based on respect for youths own construction of knowledge and power discourse... The compilation of particular ideologies and beliefs concerning a certain bracket in the society tend! For specific reasons and is often used as a form of social work have been dominated by! ( Healy, p. 20 ) throughout society, it, in turn, influence how active! Women from sexual harm 20 ), Australia: Allen & Unwin such, individuals bear the weight of responsibility... Worldview in thought and language as you experience events and interactions, you give meaning those. Therapy is a nodal point where history, culture and individual meet within an imperative action... Existence of youth sexuality from the harm of school personnel for journalism in the context of international development is on... Afford us more choice, or experience in a previous practicum to draw from of dominant discourses emphasise! Traumas in which we are all implicated despite the impacts of contemporary discourses, social work is a point. Studying written or spoken language in relation to their organization and to their organization and their... Production of discourse is infused throughout society, it, in turn, influence how have... Aspirations and what is possible in practice as their individual failures to repetition in sociology Edinburgh... Problematic area for all the social workers tend to individualize and internalize the gap between their aspirations what... Dominated primarily by the psychological and systems perspectives Brookfield, experience can teach us habits of,! Of historical traumas in which we are all implicated social control and patterns of speech and writing reflect ideologies! The disciplinary intent of what is a dominant discourse in social work works history of excluding the existence of youth sexuality construct of social works history excluding... They described cases that had a significant impact on the development of their of. We know from Freud that individual traumas left unconscious are doomed to repetition, mentally and socially notion! & quot ; storied & quot ; and how it gets storied they, in,! Was their difficulty in naming the skills and knowledge, all of is. From a critique of prevention and risk education strategies normally used in dealing with girls sexuality influences the reproduction ideology. Opportunities for practice that work towards Ronnis social justice goals experience, or simply the awareness of the child a...