Reinventing Social Work: Reflections on the Metaphysics of Social Practice(No. 8 Studies in Social Work S.)

The main purpose of this book is to educate both faculty and students about the nature and paradox of contemporary social practice - dynamics of diversity, discourse and development. Aspects and issues involve social constructs that are used and abused in the problem solving processes. From poverty and powerlessness to violence and terror we find human ingenuity's attempt to solve problems which persist. A strategic rethinking is therefore in order to see that knowledge, resources and opportunities are not lost in vain. The point of this work is meaningful, enduring resolution of human alienation and social misery. The analyses proffered here seek a unified response to uplift the human condition (at the expense of fragmented approaches and ineffective social interventions). A new theory of social work is one the intended outcomes of this study. This book will be of great interest to most social scientists, especially students and educators of social work, sociology, social policy, and social development who value critical self-refection as a vehicle of social transformation. There is no other book in the field that rivals this critical-analytical inter-disciplinary work. "The field's academics need this work as reference and guide; its students need to understand the meaning of their professional choices."

Review :
"Professor Brij Mohan is unquestionably one of the most prodigious scholars in the field of social work and social welfare that I have seen in my academic career... He grew up in a less developed country, and lives in a developed country (which has many areas that are noticeably "less developed"). He is a man that is originally from the East, and now lives in the West. I find that people are generally not aware of just how difficult a process this is. By living in two worlds he has incorporated some of the best thinking of the East and West, and in so doing has developed some creative, pioneering and sagacious thinking on social welfare policy and on the human condition. In this book, Professor Mohan remarks that this marks a "decade long reflection and critique of my work and its environment." Social Work as a profession, he states, "may still offer a redemptive opportunity..." For Brij Mohan, Social Work has been a long-time fascination, a relationship built on high expectations of such a (seemingly, at first glance) prophetic, ministerial calling. The expectations are high, which of course means that the actual performance or carrying out of the Social Work enterprise will inevitably not measure up. This is frustrating, to be sure. Social Work is such a noble calling, but the warts and blemishes are bound to diminish the luster of that noble calling. Still, idealist that he is, he challenges Social Work to go forth, to meet the lofty goals it has set for itself. Brij Mohan is undeterred in his high hopes for Social Work, despite everything. As a passionate, lifelong advocate of social equality and social justice, he avers that a Social Work that loses its commitment to these principles is a Social Work that has lost its mission, its purpose, its raison d'etre. His fascination with the philosophy of knowledge, with epistemology, parallels that of Michel Foucault (1926-1984), who argued that power is employed through language, discourse, knowledge, to exert order and most importantly control over people. As a man of both East and West, he has seen examples of this in many countries and societies. He grew up in a country occupied by another country, he grew up listening to the clarion call of Marxism-Leninism echoing throughout the world. The calls for a Marxist classless society were of course never realized. All of these ideologies and ways of thinking, to name only a very few, influenced his thinking and the development of his ideas... Brij Mohan states that he hopes that "future generations will find this book useful in their own search for the meanings of social practice, its theoretical underpinnings and applications." Present and future generations will find this book fulfilling that purpose, and as well his other works." - (from the Foreword) Thomas D. Watts, Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington "This is a brilliantly written book on the philosophy of social work not seen before. The book provides an unsurpassable and uninhibited account of social work as a profession: where it has been, where it is going and what it should be. It is a compelling read and more deeply, it presents a profound synthesis of social thought and philosophy as practice." - Professor Vijay P. Singh, Louisiana State University"