British Journal of Social Work Special Issue
The editors of the British Journal of Social Work invite submission of abstracts for this Special Issue to be guest edited by Dr Basia Spalek and Dr Laura Zahra McDonald (University of Birmingham):
'Social work and political contexts: engagement and negotiation' (Volume 42, Issue 6 - September 2012)
Successful social work relies on sensitivity and understanding of the communities within which practitioners work. Over the past few decades, social work in theory and practice has acknowledged the relevance of diverse social factors and their intersection, from 'race', ethnicity, and cultural difference, to age, gender, sexuality and class. More recently, the shift towards community identifications with faith has been recognized, bringing with it new challenges. The social landscape of super-diverse Britain, and other liberal democracies, has thus required the development of both academic theory and practitioner skill to ensure effective and successful social work.
While these developments have provided ways of better understanding the great variation of individuals and communities with whom social work is engaged, the political background in which these social processes operate seems often overlooked, perhaps due to the everyday, largely unnoticed, nature of society's political context. Yet, the political dimensions to doing social work have never been so relevant. From engaging politically disaffected communities who may view state institutions with mistrust, to dealing with the fallout of the political scapegoating of social services, social work engages, negotiates with and operates not only within the social, but the political.
This Special Issue of the British Journal of Social Work will provide an opportunity to explore critically the political dimensions to social work, and to develop major themes from a number of interdisciplinary angles.
The main aims of the Special Issue are:
* Global politics, local communities, including the impact of conflict and violence on refugees and asylum seekers, how social workers operate within zones of conflict, social work as a form of community and individual empowerment.
* Understanding intra & inter community politics, including the need for social workers to understand diversity and tensions within communities who may be normatively considered a homogenous group, and between communities who for many reasons may be in socio-political competition.
* The politicization of social work, including the politicization of issues within which social work engages, such as forced marriage, and also individual cases in which political and media interest presents complex challenges to social work.
* Political dimensions of social work: developing strategies, including ways to understand political contexts, deal with political fall-out, and build trust, with communities and clients in the face of socio-political sensitivity.
* Changing Political Landscapes and social work: political devolution/devolved governance and implications for social work policy and practice; tensions between national and regional/local governance and implications for social work practice; from new Labour to Conservative/Liberal government; state-building and social work.
When formulating abstracts, all prospective authors should note that we expect papers to:
* Offer original insights and critical perspectives on political contexts in relation to social work.
* Demonstrate informed and reflective focus on substantive social work issues, whether in relation to theoretical developments, research, practice, policy and/or education.
* Wherever possible, reflect the international scope of the BJSW and ensure that international perspectives are integrated into the discussion.
Papers are particularly welcome that:
* Are submitted by authors from outside the UK who can offer international perspectives on the themes of the Special Issue
* Address key questions such as 'why political contexts?' and 'why now?', focusing on contemporary concerns in relation to social work.
* Bring new theoretical perspectives to social work and political contexts, or apply recognised theoretical perspectives in original ways.
Timescale for Special Issue publication:
Prospective authors must be in a position to meet the following key deadlines if their abstract is accepted:
Full drafts of all papers will be due at the latest by Friday, June 24th 2011.
Following peer review, draft papers will be returned to authors by end of October 2011.
Final versions of manuscripts from authors must be received by Friday, 25th November 2011.
NB: Papers may be submitted in advance of these due dates. In accordance with BJSW's normal publication procedures, all accepted papers will be published online on the BJSW website in advance of publication in the printed volume.
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Guidelines for abstract submission:
Abstract proposals not exceeding 800 words in length should be sent by email to arrive no later than Friday, 10th March 2011 to Dr Basia Spalek, Reader in Communities & Justice, Director of Research & Knowledge Transfer, School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham: [log in to unmask]
Please ensure that you include your full name and email contact details.
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We look forward very much to receiving your contribution. If you have any queries, please email [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] and we will be happy to address them.
Basia Spalek
Laura Zahra McDonald
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