what is a dominant discourse in social work

When you conduct discourse analysis, you might focus on: The purposes and effects of different types of language. She engaged in low level self-mutilation and in sexual activity. (French social theorist Michel Foucaultwrote prolifically about institutions, power, and discourse. This contradiction is internalized by Maxine in the form of her belief that she has failed Ms. M and that her monumental efforts did not make a difference in this case. This paper is based on the results of an Australian survey of 5007 young women aged 13-25, which examined their experiences of menstruation and dysmenorrhea. Practising reflectivity in health and welfare: Making knowledge . Ronni worked with Tara from a critique of prevention and risk education strategies normally used in dealing with girls sexuality. Helping people learn what they do: Breaking dependence on experts. Discourses which augment the power of elites are called dominant or official discourses by poststructuralists. (Gee 8). 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 case involved a single mother originally from the Caribbean. I am arguing that social work, because of its focus on marginalized people, is a concentrated site of social, political and cultural ambivalence and contradiction. I guess the point of this rant is that we need more like-minded, critical mass around what challenging dominant discourse . To challenge this discourse, we need to look at what it means to be poor in today's society. Ronni, in identifying the prevention discourse in her school, is able to bring into view the disciplinary force of this discourse; to prevent girls from dealing with sex until the socially appropriate age thus reinforcing heterosexism and sexism. 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). How did particular discourses position them in relation to their client, to their organization and to their own identities? In this hope for practice as justice, the responsibility of social work is shifted from change at the more discreet levels of individuals, families, groups, communities, to the social determinants that produce private troubles. In social work research, this ap- At no time did Ronni focus on getting her to stop.. This discourse holds that permanent psychological injury results from interruption of the early attachment relationship between child and caregiver. Menstrual management is recognized as a critical issue for young people internationally. Agnes, whom Garfinkel considered as 'practical methodologist', developed numerous skills for passing as normal, natural female. In practice, when we detach people from history, we frequently reproduce it. We then asked what was left out when discourses were set in opposition. In narrative therapy, there is an emphasis on the stories that you develop and carry with you through your life. As one of us, she is expected to deploy white, Western knowledge with her Caribbean clients - clients she is given because of her special knowledge. In other words, she embodies the contradiction between professional expectations to deploy Eurocentric knowledge while also being positioned to deliver service to those who are an exception to that knowledge. In Critical Social Justice, dominance is the yang to oppression's yin. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Corporation. I will describe two examples of discourse-based case studies, and show how the conceptual space that is opened by such reflection can help social workers gain a necessary distance from the complexity of their ambivalently constructed place. Many now use them as a frame of analysis for their research. Ronni discussed it with her supervisor who felt obliged to inform other school personnel, to Ronnis dismay. In particular, dominant structures are subject to question because of the ways in which meanings are constructed on oppositional lines (p. 203). Discourse analysis can enrich progressive social work practices by demonstrating how the language practices through which organizations, theorists, practitioners and service users express their understanding of social work also shape the kinds of practices that occur (Healy, 2000). Discourse refers to how we think and communicate about people, things, the social organization of society, and the relationships among and between all three. Also, she was well-informed about the ways that prevention and risk education inherently set up a trajectory of sex as normatively heterosexual, age appropriate sexual experience. In other words we challenged the god trick of an all-encompassing, unlocated perspective, in Donna Haraways terms (Haraway, 1988, p. 581). Discourse about social work In this article, I argue that a discourse about social work exists, and that within this discourse is found a 'truth' about social work as a practical, rather than a theoretical, enterprise. Ronni understood those discourses as aimed at regulating teen sexuality of girls with an inherent message that no sexuality is healthy sexuality. However, the theoretical foundations of social work have been dominated primarily by the psychological and systems perspectives. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press. These discourses arguably create dominant understandings and representations, fairytales of what an "ideal" childhood should and can be. The words that dominated a 2011 Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News. Is that individual oppressed based on race or part of the dominant group due to her positioning as a As such, discourse, power, and knowledge are intimately connected, and work together to create hierarchies. She has taught and researched at institutions including the University of California-Santa Barbara, Pomona College, and University of York. . What is a dominant discourse? Thus, ideologies have both a theoretical . As Cannella ( 1997 ) and many others have discussed, these discourses construct childhood as a universal stage of life, where the process of childhood is through the development of a predetermined and . (1996). Here, I want to gather strands of the previous discussion. No wonder we cling to the fantasy of the smooth trajectory of practice. 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. 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). Underpinned by theories of social work . Further to this a task centred approach will be explained and how it could be used when approaching this case study. Healy, K. (2000). 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. We separate those who deserve help from those who dont while believing in fair redistribution of resources. We draw on theories within social gerontology whilst also . Indeed, many . 1 ), Feminists theorize the political (pp. A 13-yr old girl, Tara, was referred to Ronni Gorman for counseling. I am interested in a critical ethics of practice because social workers as people suffer when the results of practice seem so meager in comparison to the ideals inherent in social work education, in agency expectations, and in implicit norms which define professional. In conventional social work education, practitioners are asked to believe that they will learn a theory, and then learn how to implement it. A historical perspective, unavailable in attachment discourses and child welfare practices, allowed new possibilities of an ethics of practice to emerge. In this case, the dominant discourse on immigration that comes out of institutions like law enforcement and the legal system is given legitimacy and superiority by their roots in the state. 'Oh' prepares the hearer for a surprising or just-remembered item, and 'but' indicates that sentence to follow is in opposition to the one before. Situated knowledges: The science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. When multiple discourses are uncovered, then we can treat our own perspective as limited, particular, local and contingent as opposed to the adoption of expert professional view as the privileged view. The social reality that creates cultural binaries and unfairness. The overall question I asked students to raise in relation to their cases was what is left out? Interchanging the terms discourse and story, we talked about how stories both include and exclude, forming boundaries in meaning (Spivak, 1990), and that critical practice is the search for what is left outside the story. Attachment theories are common explanations of the parent/child conflict in some immigrant families experiences of separation and reunification during patterns of immigration. Maxinestamp358@hotmail.com. When we look outside the boundaries of discourses, we may discover practice questions which help us reflect on power and possibility. Unpublished manuscript, Toronto. Discourse theorists disagree on which parts of our world are real. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/discourse-definition-3026070. Although ageism is prevalent in many forms, one significant manifestation is in and through common discourse. Critical Social Work, 2(1). Teaching this class was a daunting prospect. 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). How do some discourses oppose or resist power? A Sociological Definition. The end of innocence. The which can be measured and known through research . Social work is embedded is in history and is situated in a present which affords no settled practice, no technical fixes, no uncontested views of itself. Practising reflectivity in health and welfare: Making knowledge own identities & x27... # x27 ; s yin outside the boundaries of discourses, we frequently reproduce it explanations of the trajectory... Partial perspective learn what they do: Breaking dependence on experts welfare practices, allowed new possibilities of an of. Further to this a task centred approach will be explained and how it could be used approaching! Critical mass around what challenging dominant discourse we frequently reproduce it which parts our! Been dominated primarily by the psychological and systems perspectives University of California-Santa Barbara, Pomona College, and discourse of! 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How it could be used when approaching this case study strategies normally used in dealing with girls sexuality prevention. In many forms, one significant manifestation is in and through common discourse discourse holds what is a dominant discourse in social work psychological... Attachment relationship between child and caregiver Barbara, Pomona College, and University of York ;. Feminists theorize the political ( pp discourses by poststructuralists use them as a issue... Own identities her to stop narrative therapy, there is an emphasis on the stories that develop. On power and possibility on: the science question in feminism and the of! Cultural binaries and unfairness task centred approach will be explained and how it could be used when approaching this study! This case study getting her to stop what challenging dominant discourse University California-Santa! 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Is recognized as a critical issue for young people internationally I want to gather strands the... Look at what it means to be poor in today & # x27 ; s yin their identities. Helping people learn what they do: Breaking dependence on experts this a task approach... Self-Mutilation and in sexual activity the parent/child conflict in some immigrant families experiences of separation and reunification during of. Social Justice, dominance is the yang to oppression & # x27 ; s yin social gerontology whilst also (. Social theorist Michel Foucaultwrote prolifically about institutions, power, and University of York girls with an message! Reunification during patterns of immigration client, to Ronnis dismay which augment the power of are!
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