York University’s School of Social Work is thrilled to announce the release of two exciting new books: “Critical Social Work Praxis” and “Unravelling Research: The Ethics and Politics of Research in the Social Sciences.” These publications, crafted by the school’s talented scholars, delve into the essential connection between social work theory and practice and the ethical dimensions of research. The books offer fresh perspectives and practical tools, highlighting the school’s dedication to fostering social justice and empowering the next generation of social work professionals.
Critical Social Work Praxis
Research Conducted by S. Shaikh, B. LeFrancois, and T. Macías
What we think must inform what we do, argue the editors and authors of this cutting-edge social work textbook. In this innovative, expansive and wide-ranging collection, leading social work thinkers engage with social work traditions to bridge social work theory and practice and arrive at social work praxis: a uniting of critical thought and ethical action. Critical Social Work Praxis is organized into sixteen sections, each reflecting a critical social work tradition or approach. Each section has a theory chapter, which succinctly outlines the tradition’s main concepts or tenets, a praxis chapter, which shows how the theory informs social work practice, and a commentary chapter, which provides a critical analysis of the tensions and difficulties of the approach. The text helps students understand how to extend theory into praxis and gives instructors critical new tools and discussion ideas. This book is the result of decades of experience teaching social work theory and praxis and is a comprehensive teaching and learning tool for the critical social work classroom.
Unravelling Research: The Ethics and Politics of Research in the Social Sciences
Research Conducted by T. Macías with an afterword by S. Razack
Unravelling Research is about the ethics and politics of knowledge production in the social
sciences at a time when the academy is pressed to contend with the historical inequities
associated with established research practices. Written by an impressive range of scholars
whose work is shaped by their commitment to social justice, the chapters grapple with different
methodologies, geographical locations and communities and cover a wide range of inquiry,
including ethnography in Africa, archival research in South America and research with
marginalized, racialized, poor, mad, homeless and Indigenous communities in Canada. Each
chapter is written from the perspective of researchers who, due to their race, class,
sexual/gender identity, ability and geographical location, labour at the margins of their
disciplines. By using their own research projects as sites, contributors probe the ethicality of
long-established and cutting-edge methodological frameworks to theorize the indivisible
relationship between methodology, ethics and politics, elucidating key challenges and dilemmas
confronting marginalized researchers and research subjects alike.
