Introduction Psychosocial studies takes many forms, but in this article it is presented as an emerging intellectual practice that works in a transdisciplinary way across psychology, sociology and several related disciplines (anthropology, feminism, postcolonial studies, queer studies and so on). It is derived particularly from European (especially British) traditions of critical social psychology and sociology, critical theory and political and social psychoanalysis. Its primary concern is with the ways in which psychic and social processes demand to be
17 TWO Mothering, deprivation and the formation of child psychoanalysis in Britain Julia Borossa Introduction In the classic account of psychoanalysis, it is childhood that provides the key to the ailments of the suffering adult patient. The experiences and fantasies of the first few years of life, visceral, uncanny and mostly unresolved, continue to inhabit us in ways that we are not conscious of, and throw more or less serious obstacles in our path as we attempt to progress through life. Thus, the psychoanalyst’s main task is seen as providing an access to this
Introduction Tim Dean ( 2000 : 5) noted two decades ago that ‘hostility toward psychoanalysis remains a sign of allegiance, a necessary credential for one’s political identity as lesbian or gay’. Dean’s assessment would appear to have remained both topical and empirically correct; indeed, it is perhaps still more pertinent today. While most queer theoretical work engages psychoanalysis in some form or another, it is generally undertaken with an unduly critical view of psychoanalytic theory and practice that too often betrays little familiarity with the highly
I wanted to come lithe and young into a world that was ours and to help build it together … yet my body was given back to me … clad in mourning. ( Fanon, 2008 ) This article asks the question: What is the value of psychoanalysis for the theorising of race in our contemporary moment – a moment when social awareness of systemic racism is broader than ever, yet disturbing incidents of racial violence and vulnerability persist alongside stubborn (if not intensifying) patterns of inequality and segregation? The manic ‘post-racial’ moment that dawned with the
Since 1997, child welfare services have been faced with new demands to engage fathers or develop father-inclusive services. This book emerges from work by the author as a researcher and educator over many years on the issues posed by this agenda for child welfare practitioners in a variety of contexts.
In locating fathers, fathering and fatherhood within a historical and social landscape, the book addresses issues seldom taken up in practice settings. It explores diversity and complexity in fathering in different disciplines such as psychoanalysis, sociology and psychology and analyses contemporary developments in social policies and welfare practices. The author employs a feminist perspective to highlight the opportunities and dangers in contemporary developments for those wishing to advance gender equity.
A key strength of the book is its inter-disciplinary focus. It will be required reading for students, graduate and postgraduate, of social work, social policy, sociology and child and family studies. Academic researchers will also find the book invaluable because of its breadth of scholarship.
In this seminal book, Krumer-Nevo introduces the Poverty-Aware Paradigm: a radical new framework for social workers and professionals working with and for people in poverty.
The author defines the core components of the Poverty-Aware Paradigm, explicates its embeddedness in key theories in poverty, critical social work and psychoanalysis, and links it to diverse facets of social work practice.
Providing a revolutionary new way to think about how social work can address poverty, she draws on the extensive application of the paradigm by social workers in Israel and across diverse poverty contexts to provide evidence for the practical advantages of integrating the Poverty-Aware Paradigm into social work practices across the globe.
This book is a major contribution to contemporary gender and sexuality studies. At a time when transgender practices are the subject of increasing social and cultural visibility, it marks the first UK study of transgender identity formation. It is also the first examination - anywhere in the world - of transgender practices of intimacy and care.
The author addresses changing government legislation concerning the citizenship rights of transgender people. She examines the impact of legislative shifts upon transgender people’s identities, intimate relationships and practices of care and considers the implications for future social policy. The book encompasses key approaches from the fields of psychoanalysis, anthropology, lesbian and gay studies, sociology and gender theory.
Drawing on extensive interviews with transgender people, “TransForming gender" offers engaging, moving, and, at times, humorous accounts of the experiences of gender transition. Written in an accessible style, it provides a vivid insight into the diversity of living gender in today’s world.
The book will be essential reading for students and professionals in cultural studies, gender studies and sexuality studies as well as those in sociology, social policy, law, politics and philosophy. It will also be of interest to health and educational students, trainers and practitioners.
“Growing up with risk” provides a critical analysis of ways in which risk assessment and management - now a pervasive element of contemporary policy and professional practice - are defined and applied in policy, theory and practice in relation to children and young people.
Drawing on conceptual frameworks from across the social sciences, the book examines contrasting perspectives on risk that occur in different policy domains and professional and lay discourses, discussing the dilemmas of response that arise from these sometimes contested viewpoints - from playground safety to risks associated with youthful substance use. The contributors address issues of gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status which impact on definitions and responses to risk, and consider related concepts, such as ‘risk-resilience’, care-control’ and ‘dependence-autonomy’.
Written in an accessible manner, each chapter provides a specific policy case study to illustrate the cross-cutting themes and issues that will make it a key text for researchers and students. It also offers policy makers and practitioners a valuable insight into the complexities of balancing responsibility for protecting the young with the benefits of risk taking and the need to allow young people to experiment.
Erich Fromm was one of the most influential and creative public intellectuals of the twentieth century. He was a mentor to David Riesman and an inspiration for the New Left.
As the rise of global right-wing populism and Trumpism creates new interest in the kind of psycho-social writing and popular sociology that Fromm pioneered in the 1930s, this timely book tells the story of the rise, fall and contemporary revival of Fromm’s theories.
Drawing from empirical work, this is an invaluable contribution to popular debates about current politics, the sociology of ideas and the prospect of a truly global public sociology.
In this provocative history of parenting, Harry Hendrick analyses the social and economic reasons behind parenting trends. He shows how broader social changes, including neoliberalism, feminism, the collapse of the social-democratic ideal, and the ‘new behaviourism’, have led to the rise of the anxious and narcissistic parent.
The book charts the shift from the liberal and progressive parenting styles of the 1940s-70s, to the more ‘behavioural’, punitive and managerial methods of childrearing today, made popular by ‘experts’ such as Gina Ford and Supernanny Jo Frost, and by New Labour’s parent education programmes.
This trend, Hendrick argues, is symptomatic of the sour, mean-spirited and vindictive social norms found throughout society today. It undermines the better instincts of parents and, therefore, damages parent-child relations. Instead, he proposes, parents should focus on understanding and helping their children as they work at growing up.
