When I first began this blog during my Social Work Masters, I was motivated to explore social issues through the double lens of sociology and social work, and to employ a critical lens to taken-for-granted norms and normative practices that perpetuate inequality. After fervently contributing to my blog for a whole year (while studying!), I… Continue reading Discourses of dementia: dismantling deficit-based narratives
Category: critical analysis
Mechanisms of Managerialism in a Risk Society
Recently I have become re-inspired by sociology. Despite studying a Masters of Social Work, I have not explicitly sought to read sociological theory since my undergrad finished in 2014. However, currently I am researching for my Child Safety field placement in Queensland, and have stumbled across, and become fascinated by, sociologist Ulrich Beck’s theorizing on reflexive modernity… Continue reading Mechanisms of Managerialism in a Risk Society
Understanding Human Development – Louise Harms
This semester, one of my units is Social Work Across the Lifespan, a particularly useful class that assesses the ways in which humans develop from birth to end of life. The course has thus far focused on a multidimensional framework for social work, with the apt assigned textbook: Understanding Human Development: A Multidimensional Approach, by Louise Harms.1 Harms is… Continue reading Understanding Human Development – Louise Harms
No Hidden Agenda: ‘Safe Schools’ Simply Promotes Safer Schools.
The following is a guest post by Melanie Ralph, a high school English and Drama teacher in Brisbane, Australia. You can also read her blog, Lustre Education, here. When reminiscing back to your sexual education experience in school, what images and emotions come to mind? At my regional Queensland high school in the late-1990s, sexual education… Continue reading No Hidden Agenda: ‘Safe Schools’ Simply Promotes Safer Schools.
-isms con’t: Kylie Jenner, Lego and Ableism
I have a love/hate relationship with magazines. They allure me so, and I cannot help myself from buying at least one when I’m in a magazine store. Admittedly, I often leave with two. I’m like a kid in a candy store who can’t pick which lolly they like the most, ogling the aisles in indecisive turmoil. Yet,… Continue reading -isms con’t: Kylie Jenner, Lego and Ableism
M.I.A. Asks: What’s Up With That?
Besides being an incredibly inspirational fashion icon, M.I.A. is also respected for her fearlessness in discussing controversial social issues. She unashamedly purports her version of ethical human behaviour, and she is always incisive with her criticism of immoral social norms. Her topical new song Borders is no different, addressing the mounting global refugee crisis and confronting viewers with the… Continue reading M.I.A. Asks: What’s Up With That?
Contributing to the Conversation re: Violence Against Women
Violence against women goes by many monikers: domestic violence, dating violence, spousal abuse, intimate partner violence, family violence, wife battering and rape, to name a few. So what is the unifying feature between the various forms of violence against women? According to the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), gender inequality is at the core of violence against… Continue reading Contributing to the Conversation re: Violence Against Women
Ageism is So Over the Hill
A couple of years ago, I was witness to an awkward faux pas on the part of a friend of mine. Two women were in a shop with a baby, one of them clearly the mother. I’m not sure why, but my friend asked the other woman – who could have been anyone in the… Continue reading Ageism is So Over the Hill
The –isms of Life
-isms are a fundamental topic for critical scrutiny in sociology. And as a core professional goal, social workers combat discriminatory practices that stem from and exemplify -isms. The Social Justice Center at Washington University has crafted a list of -isms that pervade our contemporary world. They list classism, heterosexism, ethnocentrism, religious oppression, ableism, racism, sexism/genderism, and ageism… Continue reading The –isms of Life
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