Columbia University Press Postmodern Social Work: Reflective Practice and Education

How should social workers adapt to a time of widespread instability and uncertainty? How can social work practice account for the ever-increasing infiltration of technology and media images into our daily lives and mental states? In this book, Ken Moffatt turns to postmodern philosophy’s grappling with late capitalism and the omnipresence of technology in order to develop a new approach to reflective social work practice and critical pedagogy. Postmodern Social Work attempts to reconcile postmodern thinkers with the realities of teaching social work to diverse student populations in a precarious era. Moffatt advocates an ideal of reflective practice that allows social workers to combine direct experience, social welfare, and social justice. Through a series of interlocking essays focused on the theoretical underpinnings of reflective practice in the context of social work education, he explores the implications of postmodern theory for social work practice. Drawing on thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Julia Kristeva, Gilles Deleuze, and Félix Guattari, Moffatt lays out a path forward for reflective social work, providing new ways of thinking that collapse old categories and integrate direct practice with community engagement and social analysis. Postmodern Social Work offers an approach to practice and teaching that considers the shifting landscape of social change while remaining true to social work’s primary concerns of inclusion and justice. Review Postmodern Social Work responds to the challenges of co-creating social work practice and education. Moffatt provides an intellectually rigorous and accessible approach to social work for the precarious times in which we live. Drawing on critical and feminist postmodern perspectives, Moffatt proposes new ways we can promote openness to the marginalized other and to multiple forms of knowing. The book offers renewed hope for reflective and creative forms of critical social work education and practice.--Karen Healy, author of Social Work Theories in Context: Creating Frameworks for Practice Postmodern Social Work straddles the areas of critical pedagogy and social work, offering a method for teaching in a manner that examines the academic climate, which is being so negatively impacted by neoliberalism and managerialism.--Laura Béres, author of The Narrative Practitioner Ken Moffatt has successfully provided a new take on how postmodern thinking influences the core areas of social work education. Essential to rethinking and redesigning syllabi and pedagogy, this book will function as a refreshing framework from which to revisit new curricula. All social work educators, new and experienced, will find this book invaluable.--Janis Fook, author of Social Work: A Critical Approach to Practice Postmodern Social Work offers a valuable perspective on social work teaching and education. In today's multifaceted, global environment, the ability to think critically and complexly is essential to productive social work. Integrating postmodern concepts with reflective practice, Ken Moffatt provides an alternative pedagogy that embraces these challenges. Both new and veteran educators--and their students--can benefit from the ideas discussed in this book.--Stanley Witkin, author of Transforming Social Work: Social Constructionist Reflections on Contemporary and Enduring Issues In this insightful book, Moffatt deploys his magical touch again, transforming ordinary experience into extraordinary unforgettable learning - the hallmark of a brilliant educator. Here's a unique take on the many creative ways social work engages postmodern concepts and an invitation to vulnerability where Moffatt models self-reflection as ongoing critical engagement.--Martha Kuwee Kumsa, Wilfrid Laurier University About the Author Ken Moffatt is professor of social work and Jack Layton Chair of the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Community Services at Ryerson University. H