Decolonized Approaches to Human Rights and Social Work

This book offers a balanced global perspective on postcolonial theory and decolonizing practices in human rights education in social work, with discursive voices from social work colleagues impacted by postcolonial realities. It highlights the urgent need for social workers to engage in decolonized human rights advocacy, using critical case studies to expose how colonialism continues to impact communities. It provides models of good practice in human rights advocacy and is essential reading for faculty, students, and practitioners in social work, law, sociology, global studies, and human rights.

Format: Hardback
Length: 294 pages
Publication date: 11 August 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Despite dedicated efforts to incorporate postcolonial theory and decolonizing practices into human rights education within social work, there remains a scarcity of literature offering a more comprehensive and balanced global perspective. This book aims to address this gap. Included herein are discursive voices contributed by social work colleagues whose work is influenced by postcolonial realities. The task of decolonizing social work as a human rights profession demands 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 holds immense significance in the face of numerous manifestations of global injustice, wars, and climate catastrophes. The critical involvement of social workers in decolonized human rights advocacy is more urgent than ever.

The book: Engages readers in thoughtful discourse over the contentious manner in which 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 offers models of good practice across the globe in human rights advocacy. It is a timely and essential reading for faculty who teach courses in social work, social development, and related disciplines.

Weight: 622g
Dimension: 162 x 241 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031330292
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023