Inaugurates a new field of disability studies by framing disability as a minority discourse rather than a medical one, revising oppressive narratives and revealing liberatory ones. The book examines disabled figures in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Rebecca Harding Davis's Life in the Iron Mills, in African-American novels by Toni Morrison and Audre Lorde, and in the popular cultural ritual of the freak show.

Introduction and Overview; Victoria Earle Matthews: Residence and Reform; African Americans and Social Work in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1900-1930; Birdye Henrietta Haynes: A Pioneer Settlement House Worker; Margaret Murray Washington: Organizer of Rural African American Women; Marcus Garvey and Community Development via the UNIA; Ida B. Wells-Barnett: An Uncompromising Style; Lawrence A. Oxley: Defining State Public Welfare among African Americans; George Edmund Haynes and Elizabeth Ross Haynes: Empowerment Practice among African American Social Welfare Pioneers; Janie Porter Barrett and the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls: Community Response to the Needs of African American Children ; Eugene Kinckle Jones: A Statesman for the Times; Mary Church Terrell and Her Mission: Giving Decades of Quiet Service; Thyra J. Edwards: Internationalist Social Worker; Sarah Collins Fernandis and Her Hidden Work; E. Franklin Frazier and Social Work: Unity and Conflict; Historic Development of African American Child Welfare Services; Traditional Helping Roles of Older African American Woman: The Concept of Self-Help.

In the black helping tradition, spirituality is the sense of the sacred and divine. It is a critical value deeply rooted in the African worldview and used by African Americans as a tool for survival. Provocative and well-written, this is the first book to draw a relationship between social work, spirituality, and the helping tradition among African Americans. Offering a wealth of historical detail and narrative, Elmer and Joanne Martin explore spirituality as a foundation for understanding people of African descent and as a skill to evoke self-help. This ground-breaking book raises compelling questions about the limitations and strengths of mainstream social work in issues of black spirituality and its role in strengthening the black community today.

Leslie Leighninger fills an important gap in the social work literature with her in-depth examination of the development of social work as a profession from the 1930s through the 1960s. She explores the major changes that took place during this period--the creation of a broad professional association, solidification of a system of graduate education, development of an undergraduate training program, the rise and demise of a union movement, and the professionalization of public welfare--in a broad historical context.

Social work practitioners write for a variety of publications, and they are expected to show fluency in a number of related fields. Whether the target is a course instructor, scholarly journal, fellowship organization, or general news outlet, social workers must be clear, persuasive, and comprehensive in their writing, especially on provocative subjects. This first-of-its-kind guide features top scholars and educators providing a much-needed introduction to social work writing and scholarship. Foregrounding the process of social work writing, the coeditors particularly emphasize how to think about and approach one's subject in a productive manner. The guide begins with an overview of social work writing from the 1880s to the present, and then follows with ideal strategies for academic paper writing, social work journal writing, and social work research writing. A section on applied professional writing addresses student composition in field education, writing for and about clinical practice, the effective communication of policy information to diverse audiences, program and proposal development, advocacy, and administrative writing. The concluding section focuses on specific fields of practice, including writing on child and family welfare, contemporary social issues, aging, and intervention in global contexts. Grounding their essays in systematic observations, induction and deduction, and a wealth of real-world examples, the contributors describe the conceptualization, development, and presentation of social work writing in ways that better secure its power and relevance.

A conceptual and practical presentation of the strengths perspective in social work. Part of the Advancing Core Competencies Series, a unique series that helps students taking advanced social work courses apply CSWE's core competencies and practice behaviours examples to specialised fields of practice. The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice, 6th edition, presents both conceptual and practical elements of the strengths perspective - from learning about and practicing the strengths perspective to using the strengths perspective with older adults, the chronically ill, and substance abusers. Many of the chapters address recent events -from the tragic shooting in Tucson to the uprisings in the Middle East. Each chapter begins with a section from an expert in the field. A better teaching and learning experience This program will provide a better teaching and learning experience--for you and your students. Here's how: Improve Critical Thinking - Each chapter contains four critical thinking questions and two short essay questions that require the reader to apply key concepts. Engage Students - Extensive case examples keep students interested and help them see a connection between theory and practice. Explore Current Issues - Three new chapters have been added to reflect the most current knowledge in the field. Apply CSWE Core Competencies - The text integrates the 2008 CSWE EPAS, with critical thinking questions and practice tests to assess student understanding and development of competencies and practice behaviours.

This book examines the conceptual, historical and practical implications that various social policies in the United States have had on ethnic minorities.