Exploring Social Work - by Linda Bell (Paperback)

About the Book

This unique study of social work provides a bold and challenging view of the subject from an anthropological perspective. Combining research and personal reflection, it explores cultural and symbolic representations of social work, evolving identities of social work practitioners and the ways in which they and society now view one another.

Book Synopsis

Exploring various aspects of social work from an anthropological perspective, this original book uses an 'outsider' position to develop a reflexive dialogue with social workers from England and elsewhere in Europe.

Bell, an anthropologist, worked alongside social work educators and social workers for many years. She widens our insights into social work by offering thought-provoking examples suggesting how social work practitioners view their occupation and their practice, and how wider society views them.

Blending research and personal reflection to critically examine social workers' preoccupations and contributions to society, the author explores identities and definitions in social work, making this book refreshing reading for academics, researchers, students and practitioners.

Review Quotes

"Bell's personal perspective of anthropological reflections and author polemics invites the reader to consider their own perspective. This I feel means that this book should have a big appeal for a diversity of audiences... Some texts on the first time of reading feel like they are books that you will return to time and time again and this is one such text." Journal of Social Work

"Linda Bell offers a new perspective on a long-standing question: What is social work?... For readers outside of the UK and Europe, the book offers a foil to compare, contrast, and query the different policies and ideologies that distinguish social work across the globe, in addition to highlighting the challenge of social work as an embodiment of social work regimes." Affilia

"This is a fascinating and challenging book... offers a detailed, rich and complex portrait of social work in contemporary society." European Journal of Social Work