Transforming social work: social constructionist reflections on contemporary and enduring issues

Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 Social Construction as a Transforming Framework -- Transformative Change -- Change and Transformation as Language -- Developing a Transformative Orientation -- Postmodernism: The Basics -- The Social Construction of Social Construction -- Truth -- Discourse -- Notes -- References -- 2 Revisioning Social Work Ethics -- Values, Ethics, and Morality -- Mainstream Perspectives on Ethics -- Critiques of Mainstream Perspectives -- Social Work Ethics -- Codes of Ethics -- Social Constructionist Perspectives -- Broadening the Conversation: Communicative Ethics -- Notes -- References -- 3 Human Rights: A Critical Analysis -- Social Work and Human Rights -- The Relationship Between Human Rights and Social Justice -- Meanings and Controversies About Human Rights -- Human Rights as Discourse -- Richard Rorty -- Zygmunt Bauman -- A Way Forward? -- Concluding Thoughts: The Case for Retaining Human Rights -- Notes -- References -- 4 Difference, Noticing, and Cultural Competence -- Cultural Competency and Social Work -- Difference and Noticing -- The Relation of Noticing to Cultural Competence -- Other Issues Related to Cultural Competence -- Going Forward -- On Knowing the Other -- Applying Levinas -- Humility and Cultural Humility -- Relationality -- Concluding Thoughts -- Notes -- References -- 5 Social Work as Risky Business -- Meanings of Risk -- The Social Construction of Risk -- Social Work in the Risk Society -- Neo-liberalism and Risk -- Scientific Rationality and Risk -- Instrumental Rationality -- Actuarialism -- Quantification: The Risk of Eating Raw Oysters -- What Can Be Done? Maintaining a Social Constructionist Orientation -- Notes -- References -- 6 Re-constructing the Strengths Perspective -- Strengths as Relationship -- The Relational Self -- Strengths as Perspective.