The Glocal Turn in Social Work. Theories, Practices and Writings in a Post-Anthropogenic World

The conceptual framing of social work as a glocal discipline and profession in a world perspective is increasingly reshaped by economic, ecological and social sustainability challenges. This umbrella project departs from the notion that changes in re-conceptualisation of social work across the inter/trans/national/global/glocal mirrors a paradigmatic shift in the disciplinary and practice-based field of social work as an anthropogenic discipline. Through a number of sub-projects, it examines how social work is theorized, practiced and written through encounters and dialogical practices with glocalisation, architecture, the arts, human geography, feminist and postcolonial studies and creative life writing. It establishes a framework for revisioning theoretical lenses for seeing social issues which includes both human and non-human existence and well-being inspired by critical spatial analysis and the relationship to things. The project promotes a/r/tography for social work as a spatial creative pedagogical methodology of living inquiry created in the intersections of artist/researcher/teacher. Further it makes use of examples from diverse key issues to illustrate the actuality and complex forms of the glocal turn in social work, with emphasis on art-based practices, creative writing and multi-lingual expressions.

The project is established 2020 and runs to 2023. It builds collaboration with researchers, and invites PhD candidates and Master students in social work and interdisciplinary to write their dissertations and essays on topics linked with the project.