Description
Book SynopsisDespite committed effort to integrate postcolonial theory and decolonizing practices in human rights education in social work, there is scant literature offering a more balanced global perspective. This book addresses that need. Included here are discursive voices contributed by social work colleagues whose work is impacted by postcolonial realities. The task of decolonizing social work as a human rights profession calls for the inclusion of contesting perspectives from social work activists, human rights advocates and educators whose critical standpoints are drawn from the historical context of Global North-South relations. This book is essential given the many manifestations of global injustice, wars and climate catastrophes. The critical involvement of social workers in decolonized human rights advocacy is at no period in history, more urgent than now.
The book:
- Engages readers in reflective discourse over the contentious manner human rights principles are referenced by social work practitioners within the context of contemporary North-South geopolitics
- Explores dilemmas, conflicts, challenges and limitations experienced by social workers worldwide while upholding human rights principles
- Uses critical case studies that expose how the vestiges of colonialism continue to impact communities
- Identifies areas of human rights advocacy where social work succeeds, and where it is confronted by limiting challenges
- Emphasizes the importance of human rights education and practice in the context of global inequalities
Decolonized Approaches to Human Rights and Social Work provides models of good practice the world over in human rights advocacy. It is timely and essential reading for faculty who teach courses in social work, social development, community organization, human rights and social justice, as well as for students in social work, law, sociology, global studies and human rights. The book should draw readers who work in non-governmental organizations, international development agencies, advocacy groups, and community-based and grassroots organizations. International research centers, law clinics and organizations serving migrants and refugees would find it a useful resource.
Table of ContentsForeword by Rory Truell
Foreword by Susan Mapp
Part I - Social Work and the Decolonization Project
Chapter 1 - Human Rights and the Decolonization of Social Work
Marcin Boryczko, Mark Lusk and Melinda Madew
Chapter 2 - Relativism, Universalism and Pluriversality in Human Rights
Marcin Boryczko, Jason M. Leung and Melinda Madew
Part II – History of Social Work as a Human Rights Profession
Chapter 3 - Interrogating the Colonial Past: The Conflicting History of Social Work as a Human Rights Profession
María Inés Martínez Herrero and Prospera Tedam
Chapter 4 – The Postcolonial Present and a Decolonized Future for Social Work
Samuel Terrazas
Chapter 5 - Kinship Care, Responsibility and Self-Determination: Exploring African Individual and Community Rights in Decolonized Social Work
Ndangwa Noyoo and Tanja Kleibl
Part III - Human Rights Mandate in Social Work
Chapter 6 - Mapping Basic Human Rights Instruments
Mark Lusk and Nicholas D. Natividad
Part IV - Situating Human Rights in the Global North-South Divide
Chapter 7 - Postcolonial Europe and its Premises for Decolonization
Marcin Boryczko, Tomasz Nowicki and Emilio Jose Gomez Ciriano
Chapter 8 - Decolonized Approaches to Human Rights and Social Work in the United States
Erica Balderrama, Araceli Garcia, and Eva M. Moya
Chapter 9 – Challenging Coloniality in Social Work Theorizations on Human Rights
Kris Clarke
Part V - Decolonized Approaches in Human Rights Advocacy
Chapter 10 - Understanding the U.S.-Mexico Border Through a Decolonial Lens
Nicholas D. Natividad
Chapter 11 – Decoding a Colonial Impact – The Women’s Movement in India
Nycil Romis Thomas
Chapter 12 – From Anti-Colonial Revolutionaries to Subversive Feminists – Women in the Philippines
Melinda Madew
Chapter 13 – Colonial History of Territorial Dislocation and Landlessness – Indigenous Peoples and Farmers’ Food Sovereignty in the Philippines
Jason M. Leung
Chapter 14 – Lessons from Social Movements: Farmers and Food Sovereignty in India
Kiran Thampi
Chapter 15 - Decolonizing Social Work Education
Mark Lusk and Marcin Boryczko
Chapter 16 - A Path Forward for Social Work, Human Rights and Decolonization
Marcin Boryczko, Melinda Madew and Mark Lusk
