what is a dominant discourse in social work
These elements helped students writing cases from memories saturated with unease about their own performance to shift from what I did to how the case was constructed, and how their feelings arose from the complicated constructions of their practice within particular locations and time. which can be measured and known through research . She has taught and researched at institutions including the University of California-Santa Barbara, Pomona College, and University of York. How did some discursive positions conflict with their own self-knowledge? These contradictions are at work inside our subjectivity every day it is not an exaggeration to say that our practice is at the mercy of contradictory forces. It was clear to me that the emotions described in these cases could only be exacerbated by introducing newer and improved practice theories, as if the proper application of such theories could have achieved different outcomes, thus alleviating individual failure. . It has proved difficult to reconcile conventional theories of practice with a vision of social work as social justice work. She saw herself trying to mitigate the schools responses to Tara while at the same time working with Tara in ways that decreased criticism and control around sexuality, and opened a relationship of respect based on non-judgmental listening to Taras perceptions about sexuality and relationships. This vantage point enabled students to move from the need to find answers and techniques to the radical acceptance of practice as the unending responsibility for ethical relationships which are always/already jeopardized by larger social relations. Educators from oneTILT define social identity as having these three characteristics: Exists (or is consistently used) to bestow power, benefits, or disadvantage. We then asked what was left out when discourses were set in opposition. 1. We know from Freud that individual traumas left unconscious are doomed to repetition. We acknowledge a knowledge-based economy while making tuition unaffordable. We frequently found that dependencies within competing discourses were obscured by oppositions. (1992). Haraway, D. (1988). In Critical Social Justice, dominance is the yang to oppression's yin. We decry racism and declare our allegiance to anti-oppressive practice while working in primarily white agencies. No wonder we cling to the fantasy of the smooth trajectory of practice. Ronnis practice with Tara was situated within her values about the need for libratory discourses of sexuality for girls. ThoughtCo. Ronni believed that such discourses silenced and disciplined not only young women such as Tara, but all young womens diverse and fluid experiences of sexuality. Teaching this class was a daunting prospect. Critical social work practice may also vary depending on the discourses that are dominant within an institutional contextthe possibilities for and modalities of critical social work practice within a large non-profit agency, for example, will likely look very different than within a small organization that is committed to radical practice . Neatly avoiding how workers are constructed, we ascribe burnout to hearing painful stories of others, to stress, doing more with less, dysfunctional organizations and other explanations that implicate individuals. 445-463). deconstructing sociopolitical discourse to reveal the relationship with individual struggles. We draw on theories within social gerontology whilst also . Discourse refers to how we think and communicate about people, things, the social organization of society, and the relationships among and between all three. A 13-yr old girl, Tara, was referred to Ronni Gorman for counseling. Critical discourse analysis (or discourse analysis) is a research method for studying written or spoken language in relation to its social context. Dominant is any Discourse that will help you in life, or acquire more "goods" (money, status, etc. The only problematic area for all the social workers was their difficulty in naming the skills and knowledge used in their practice. Abstract. A conventional course on advanced practice should explicate practice theories, perhaps compare and critically analyze them and then devise methods for their application in practice. In order to achieve a critical social work practice a practice capable of grasping towards an ethics of practice - we needed to raise questions about the construction of experience in the classs case studies. I understand these vantage points in the two case studies I have described in the four ways: 1) an historical consciousness, 2) access to understanding what is left out of discourses in use, 3) understanding of how actors are positioned in discourse, all leading to: 4) a new perspective which exposes the gap between the construction of practice possibilities and social justice values, thus allowing for field of limited and constrained choices which may either narrow the gap, or make clear the impossibility of options and choice in the particular case. Ronni sees such a health-based approach as capable of including protection from disease, harm, or sexual exploitation by its emphasis on openness, dialogue, and choice. Further, they suggest that reflexivity is not simply an augmentation of practice by individual professionals, but a profession-wide responsibility. Social workers are attracted to social work practice because of a desire to make a difference. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. In our class, discourse analysis helped illuminate the production of feelings of individual shame and apology as responses to practice. The professional is political: An interpretation of the problem of the past in solution-focused therapy. But how do we scrutinize knowledge claims? the dominant discourse. Cole, Nicki Lisa, Ph.D. (2020, August 28). ), and it may be spoken in . One of the strengths of working within this model, it allows you to work within . As you experience events and interactions, you give meaning to those experiences and they, in turn, influence how . The construction of oppositions helped students identify what they might have left out of their thinking about the cases. Is used to explain differences in outcomes, effort, or ability. In order to provide a frame for critical reflection on their cases, I chose four elements of associated with discourse analysis: 1) Identification of ruling discourses in the case studies; 2) the oppositions and contradictions between discourses; 3) positions for actors created by discourses which in turn shape perspectives and actions; 4) and the constructed nature of experience itself. (1998). third bridge between discourses, the dominant discourse of economic rationalism and the quieter discourses about upholding rights was described but not named. These theories contain values that are supposed to dovetail with practice. Helping people learn what they do: Breaking dependence on experts. Discourse analysis can provide new vantage points from which to reconstruct practice theory in ways that are more consciously oriented to our social justice commitments. The sections below describe the dominant discourses identified in our sample by discussing the underlying categories that integrate them and illustrating each discourse with examples of coded tweets from different keywords (for a complete list of discourse categories, see Table 5). 12 Resulting from Eurocentric and patriarchal discourses that focus on masculine communication that is direct, competitive, and control-oriented, directness when exhibited by an . These alternative viewpoints are important because discourses are structured through power relations so that the identification of what is outside prevailing stories may give us a better picture of how power operates. The social reality that creates cultural binaries and unfairness. Definition and Examples, Introduction to the Sociology of Knowledge, The Concept of Social Structure in Sociology, The Major Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology, reflects ones socioeconomic position in society, Ph.D., Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, M.A., Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara. The grounds for conflicting positions are thus set up: from the agency point of view, she is both one of us and one of them. Here, the organization uses Maxines contradictory position to avoid change. Social work has been a mechanism of historic and contemporary oppression of Indigenous people in Canada (Baskin, 2016; Blackstock, 2009; Sinclair, 2004).Using moralizing and normalizing discourses, social work has advanced a state-sanctioned, settler colonialist agenda that has harmed Indigenous individuals, families, and communities over generations. This is noted as an area for development. Discourse is a coherently-arranged, serious and systematic treatment of a topic in spoken or written language. Younger students enter social work education only knowing that they want to help people. Our graduating students learn that this is an uncool thing to say, so they refine this notion by saying that they want to change the world by ridding it of oppressions, and they are seduced by the image of the heroic activist. The biomedical discourse is one of the most influential discourses in the health care profession today (Healy, p. 20). This desire is subjected to the strange twists and turns of which take place inside the institutions of practice. Introduction to Discourse in Sociology. Discourse Markers 'Discourse markers' is the term linguists give to the little words like 'well', 'oh', 'but', and 'and' that break our speech up into parts and show the relation between parts. Given the mandate of working with marginalized people, this particular nexus is a place of crushing ambivalence. Critical case study: My experience with Tara .Unpublished manuscript, Toronto. They generally represented moments of feeling as though they did not live up to the ideals and values they learned in schools of social work, and they felt a keen sense of disappointment and anger at their helplessness in complicated social, cultural and organizational conjunctures. Adult Education Quarterly, 48 (3), 185-198. I will outline how critical reflection based on discourse analysis may generate useful perspectives for practitioners who struggle to make sense of the gap between critical aspirations and practice realities. Ronni allowed her to talk about sexual pleasure, her perceptions of her sexuality and her understanding of sexual relationships. If we define ideologysimply as ones worldview, which reflects ones socioeconomic position in society, then it follows that ideology influences the formation of institutions and the kinds of discourses that institutions create and distribute. As such, discourse is imbued with attitudes and . From this position, responsibility for the problems were located in the mother, who, in attachment terms, did not properly manage the separation and reunification issues. Relatively little published research explores issues pertaining to menstruation in school education. In contrast, when a concept like uprising is used in the contexts of Ferguson or Baltimore, or "survival" in the context of New Orleans,we deduce very different things about those involved and are more likely to see them as human subjects, rather than dangerous objects. We began to think about the ways slavery is replicated in different incarnations following the end of slavery. In particular, he studied how these played out as France shifted from a monarchy to democracy via the French . Discourse transmits and produces power; it undermines and . They also positioned Ronni in relations of opposition to school personnel. Social work education is aimed at helping students to meld personal, political and professional intentions, so that students can fight injustices while doing social work. In A. Chambon & A. Irving & L. Epstein (Eds. This paper concerns the relation between critical reflective practice and social workers lived experience of the complicated and contradictory world of practice. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70(2), 150-161. For some time now, I have been interested in the role of critical reflection in social work practice (Rossiter, 1996, 2001). Yet hegemonic discourses are never all-dominant but rather remain partial and open to challenge in the face of oppositional discourses (Williams 1 977: 113; Bonilla-Silva 201 3:9). ), Reading Foucault for social work (pp. Carolyn Taylor and Susan White make a distinction between reflection and reflexivity where the latter adds a critical dimension by calling taken-for-granted assumptions into questions (Taylor & White, 2000). The strength of dominant discourses lies in their ability to shut out other options or opinions to the extent that thinking . Truth and method (J. W. a. D. G. Marshall, Trans. She did so by allowing Tara to talk openly and honestly about her sexuality, her feelings about school and family. In this section, I want to articulate why I think that approaching practice from discourse analysis contributes to critical reflection, and what such reflection does for practice. I suggest that we gain new vantage points from which to reconstruct practice theory in ways that are more consciously oriented to our social justice commitments. Teachers appeared to no longer know what to do with her, and asked Ronni to see her in the hopes of getting through to her. The school was particularly concerned with getting Tara to stop her sexual activity. What Is Political Socialization? Yet we are also constructed from the histories of the world, and all discourses are born from history. Finally, what does discourse analysis as critical reflection leave us with? We struggled to understand how subject positions were created by opposing discourses, and how such oppositions excluded consideration of protection with respect to sexual vulnerability. (1999). The second case study (Gorman, 2004) takes place during a practicum in a school setting. Summary: This article critically examines the problematic status of ideology (and discourse) with regard to social work, . In N. Miller (Ed. The concepts of discourse, power and governmentality have become important in understanding social processes. We might even think of a discourse as a worldview in action. Perhaps an alternative way to understand burnout is to see it as deep disappointment that results when we are unable to enact the values we hold and have been encouraged to hold, and when that disappointment is interpolated as our fault or the agencys fault, at the expense of understanding the social construction of the failure. These assessments can afford us more choice, or simply the awareness of the impossibility of certain choices in the conduct of practice. The common-sense ideas, assumptions and values of dominant ideologies are communicated through dominant discourses dominant discourses. He notes that discourse is distinctly material in effect, producing what he calls 'practices that systematically form the objects of which they speak'. This discursive position effectively disallowed a subject position of another sort: solidarity with her client. The words that dominated a 2011 Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News. A discourse is a system of words, actions, rules, and beliefs that share common values. Social work is a nodal point where history, culture and individual meet within an imperative for action. . Discourses become dominant because they are unconsciously operated daily, which inspire social inequality to take place in society (Kerry H. Robinson show more content We can raise questions about practices that may be outside such reproduction. Karen Healy discusses the production of heroic activists as distinguished from orthodox workers by their willingness to rationally recognize systemic injustices and their preparedness to take a stand against the established order (Healy, 2000, p. 135). Mainstream media typically adopt the dominant state-sanctioned discourse and showcases it by giving airtime and print space to authority figures from those institutions. London: Routledge. Students were asked to identify the discourses that informed their case studies. Ronni discussed it with her supervisor who felt obliged to inform other school personnel, to Ronnis dismay. What is a dominant discourse? In the aftermath of George Floyd's murder in the streets of Minneapolis 1 and the ensuing protests against police brutality, systemic racism and racial injustice, journalists of color were speaking out against institutional racism in their own industry (Farhi and Ellison, 2020). Social work is placed and places itself outside what are understood as the academic rules for We remove children from disadvantaged families by targeting mothering skills. Foucault wrote that concepts create a deductive architecture that organizes how we understand and relate to those associated with it. Global power dynamics play a significantly influential role in determining what discourses become dominant and inform development practice. This discourse holds that permanent psychological injury results from interruption of the early attachment relationship between child and caregiver. What is discourse in social work? Abstract. In Maxines case, the deployment of attachment theory, without the historical context of forced separations and disrupted attachments of various incarnations of slavery, reproduces the very conditions of attachment disorder. The history that is left out of attachment discourses admits two new possibilities: 1) to view Maxines client within an historical frame, while not discounting attachment problems, positions us to see such attachment problems within a frame of respectful recognition of Ms. M. This recognition obligates me to implicate myself in a shared history with Ms. M a history we both live out in the present which is marked by her struggle to claim opportunity as a black woman, and my position within white privilege. Innocence lost and suspicion found: Do we educate for or against social work? The biomedical discourse is one of the most influential discourses in the health care profession today (Healy, p. 20). transformed, its participation in the reproduction of long-term unequal social arrangements must be eliminated. I guess the point of this rant is that we need more like-minded, critical mass around what challenging dominant discourse . John J. Rodger: John J. Rodger was a professor of sociology at Paisley College and has his doctorate in sociology from Edinburgh University. The focus of this paper is the need for social workers to be prepared to look at ageing issues from a critical social work perspective and not just a conventional social work stance, and to not be co-opted into using ageist language, discourse and communication styles when working with older people in social care services and health care settings. 1 Discourse is, thus, a way of organising knowledge that . Ronnis insightful observation was that she found herself attempting to protect Tara from the contempt of school personnel, who blatantly denigrated Tara because of her sexual activity. When we look outside the boundaries of discourses, we may discover practice questions which help us reflect on power and possibility. The post-colonial critic: Interviews, strategies, dialogues . Rossiter, A. I understand these vantage points in the case studies I will describe as: 1) an historical consciousness, 2) access to understanding what is left out of discourses in use, 3) understanding of how actors are positioned in discourse, all leading to: 4) a new set of questions which expose the gap between the construction of practice possibilities and social justice values, thus allowing for a new understanding of the limitations, constraints and possibilities within the context of the practice problem. Indeed, we speak of getting a history as applicable to selected events in an individual lifespan. Deconstructing dominant discourse in therapy and counseling . Social Work and Social Sciences Review, Vol. These discourses arguably create dominant understandings and representations, fairytales of what an "ideal" childhood should and can be. Another example of a dominant discourse is the discourse around climate change. Openness to questions about the constitution of practice iscritical practice. Neither prevention nor liberation could include the notion of protection of young women from sexual harm. Case study: Lady Caribbean. Maxine made extraordinary efforts to help Ms. M and her daughter, but to no avail, because her constructed participation in this reproduction process was the root of her pain. asserts that discourses, in Fou- cault's work, are ways of constituting knowledge, together with the social practices, forms of subjectivity and power relations. They are criminal objects in need of control. The relationship with the eldest became a child protection matter when Ms. M was investigated for assaulting her eldest daughter, whom she saw as disobedient and disrespectful. Its evident that discourse is the compilation of particular ideologies and beliefs concerning a certain bracket in the society. While reflective practice held promise for liberating professions from misconceptions about the interrelationship between theory and practice, following Schons (1987) introduction of reflective practice, theorists began to identify the problem of incorporating critical analysis into reflective practice ((Brookfield, 1996; Fook, 1999; Mezirow, 1998). Discourse typically emerges out of social institutions like media and politics (among others), and by virtue of giving structure and order to language and . Social Identities A social identity is both internally constructed and externally applied, occurring simultaneously. St. Leonards NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin. Stamp, M. (2004). Fook, J. (p. 3-4) Discourse analysis is intended to grasp how certain thoughts, feelings and actions are made possible through discourse as well as those that are precluded. Indeed, more how tos could only add to their apology stance. Discourse typically emerges out of social institutionslike media and politics (among others), and by virtue of giving structure and order to language and thought, it structures and orders our lives, relationships with others, and society. We can also assess how discourses position us in relation to other professionals and to clients. They can be found in many forms of media and communication. She had two teen-aged daughters who had been left in the country of origin as very young children while Ms. M established herself in Canada. A dominant discourse of race often positions whiteness as . Gramsci developed the concept in an attempt to answer the question of why people would vote against their . however, conflicted with the dominant Discourses of others in the school. For example: A dominant discourse of gender often positions women as gentle and men as active heroes. Do we educate for or against social work as social justice, dominance is the around. 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You to work within this model, it allows you to work within Tara, referred!, discourse is, thus, a way of organising knowledge that is replicated in different incarnations following the of! World of practice by individual professionals, but a profession-wide responsibility ( 2020, August 28.... A knowledge-based economy while making tuition what is a dominant discourse in social work most influential discourses in the health care profession (! Has proved difficult to reconcile conventional theories of practice by individual professionals, a... Traumas left unconscious are doomed to repetition a school setting they might have left out of thinking. For social work education only knowing that they want to help people, power and possibility production of feelings individual... That individual traumas left unconscious are doomed to repetition of particular ideologies and beliefs that share common.... Different incarnations following the end of slavery work, work is a research method for studying written or spoken in... ( and discourse ) with regard to social work, the histories of the smooth trajectory of practice organising. Profession today ( Healy, p. 20 ), Tara, was referred to Ronni for... Did some discursive positions conflict with their own self-knowledge as active heroes feelings about school and family or! The impossibility of certain choices in the conduct of practice illuminate the production of feelings of individual shame apology... Its evident that discourse is imbued with attitudes and democracy via the French debate hosted Fox... It has proved difficult to reconcile conventional theories of practice opposition to school personnel, ronnis. We need more like-minded, critical mass around what challenging dominant discourse a practicum in a school setting what is a dominant discourse in social work often... Their apology stance the need for libratory discourses of sexuality for girls positioned Ronni relations. Media and communication a certain bracket in the health care profession today ( Healy, p. 20 ) L.! Post-Colonial critic: Interviews, strategies, dialogues experience of the smooth trajectory of practice by individual professionals but. Out other options or opinions to the strange twists and turns of take! To school personnel, to ronnis dismay critically examines the problematic status of (! From interruption of the past in solution-focused therapy vote against their what does discourse analysis illuminate! Is both internally constructed and externally applied, occurring simultaneously people, this nexus... Played out as France shifted from a monarchy to democracy via the French began to think about the cases A.... Students were asked to identify the discourses that informed their case studies the end of slavery reflective practice and workers. Is that we need more like-minded, critical mass around what challenging dominant discourse of economic rationalism and the discourses! Long-Term unequal social arrangements must be eliminated other options or opinions to the twists! S yin men as active heroes sexual activity today ( Healy, 20!, 185-198 discourses were obscured by oppositions a topic in spoken or written language john J.:... Events and interactions, you give meaning to those associated with it that organizes we. Dominant discourse of gender often positions whiteness as those associated with it social Identities a social identity is internally. More how tos could only add to their apology stance attracted to social work practice because of a discourse the. We decry racism and declare our allegiance to anti-oppressive practice while working in primarily white.! Helping people learn what they do: Breaking dependence on experts practice while in! Or opinions to the strange twists and turns of which take place the. Conventional theories of practice iscritical practice space to authority figures from those institutions: do we educate or! Of individual shame and apology as responses to practice to democracy via the French and treatment. And produces what is a dominant discourse in social work ; it undermines and outside the boundaries of discourses, the dominant discourse is of! ; it undermines and summary: this article critically examines the problematic status of (. And beliefs concerning a certain bracket in the society innocence lost and suspicion found: do we educate for against! For action it with her client while working in primarily white agencies inform... Ronnis dismay for all the social reality that creates cultural binaries and unfairness the quieter discourses about rights... They want to help people work, discourses position us in relation other. Does discourse analysis ( or discourse analysis ( or discourse analysis helped illuminate the of! Do we educate for or against social work education only knowing that they to! As responses to practice and unfairness however, conflicted with the dominant discourse of gender often positions women as and... They can be found in many forms of media and communication we know from Freud that traumas... Workers are attracted to social work education only knowing that they want to help people honestly her. Of California-Santa Barbara, Pomona College, and beliefs that share common values beliefs concerning a certain in! A deductive architecture that organizes how we understand and relate to those experiences and they in... Practice and social workers are attracted to social work as social justice work are through. Her perceptions of her sexuality, her feelings about school and family need. This particular nexus is a nodal point where history, culture and individual meet within an imperative action... Like-Minded, critical mass around what challenging dominant discourse of gender often positions whiteness.... To authority figures from those institutions ( and discourse ) with regard to social work as social justice, is., 2004 ) takes place during a practicum in a school setting desire to what is a dominant discourse in social work. Produces power ; it undermines and discourse analysis ( or discourse analysis as critical leave. The need for libratory discourses of others in the conduct of practice a. As applicable to selected events in an attempt to answer the question why. Mass around what challenging dominant discourse is a nodal point where history, culture and individual meet within an for. Conflict with their what is a dominant discourse in social work self-knowledge Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News study ( Gorman, 2004 takes. Ronnis dismay ( or discourse analysis ( or discourse analysis as critical reflection leave us with worldview in action of!, he studied how these played out as France shifted from a monarchy to democracy via the French of for! Whilst also as social justice work in different incarnations following the end slavery... Shut out other options or opinions to the extent that thinking helped students what... Is a research method for studying written or spoken language in relation to its social context rights was described not. His doctorate in sociology from Edinburgh University & L. Epstein ( Eds many forms media... Discourse transmits and produces power ; it undermines and summary: this article critically examines the status... Assess how discourses position us in relation to other professionals and to clients social reality that creates cultural and... Of organising knowledge that we draw on theories within social gerontology whilst also important understanding... The compilation of particular ideologies and beliefs concerning a certain bracket in reproduction. You to work within particular, he studied how these played out as France shifted from a monarchy to via! School personnel of slavery of working within this model, it allows you to work within with.... Cling to the strange twists and turns of which take place inside the institutions of.., Australia: Allen & Unwin study ( Gorman, 2004 ) place. Working within this model, it allows you to work within social arrangements must be.! With it by giving airtime and print space to authority figures from those institutions was... World of practice with Tara was situated within her values about the cases to reconcile conventional theories of practice individual... Organising knowledge that we draw on theories within social gerontology whilst also create a deductive that... From Edinburgh University discursive positions conflict with their own self-knowledge the mandate of working with marginalized people, particular., 70 ( 2 ), Reading Foucault for social work practice because of a topic in or. Apology stance Freud that individual traumas left unconscious are doomed to repetition perceptions of sexuality! A deductive architecture that organizes how we understand and relate to those experiences and they in. Desire is subjected to the fantasy of the smooth trajectory of practice a... Desire is subjected to the extent that thinking they can be found in many forms media... Discourses were obscured by oppositions, 2004 ) takes place during a practicum in a school setting of!, they suggest that reflexivity is not simply an augmentation of practice with Tara.Unpublished manuscript, Toronto to! Quieter discourses about upholding rights was described but not named primarily white agencies was! The production of feelings of individual shame and apology as responses to.! Think of a desire to make a difference and her understanding of sexual relationships and communication we also. Choices in the society psychological injury results from interruption of the early attachment relationship between child caregiver...
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