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Introductions. This is SW 200. If you aren’t registered for SW200, you are in the wrong place. Introductions. Who are you? What year are you? Where are you from? Do you know what you hope to study yet?
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Introductions • This is SW 200. If you aren’t registered for SW200, you are in the wrong place.
Introductions • Who are you? • What year are you? • Where are you from? • Do you know what you hope to study yet? • Why are you taking this class? (“it’s required” is an ok answer, btw, but I’d like to know why this one and not something else)
Ground Rules • Respect • Cell phones off • What else??
Syllabus • It is your responsibility to read and follow the directions provided to you in your syllabus for this class. • If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please talk to your instructor ASAP. • Not reading the syllabus closely will NOT be an acceptable excuse for anything.
Social Work • What is Social Work? • IFSW definition: • The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work. • Social Work is a moral profession, based on values and rights.
Values and Rights • What is a “value”? • What is a “right”? • Do these change over time? • In the US, we have the right to value things differently.
Examples of values at points in time • Patriarchal values in early America • Men are more able to make important decisions, participate in political rhetoric (think critically), and shape discipline in households and communities. • Related: • Women should not vote. • Children have no rights and corporal punishment is the business of the man of the house. • Women now have the right to vote, and child abuse is illegal. What changed in our value structure?
Examples of values at points in time • Sanctity of life • Killing is not allowed by law in the US, including “honor killing” and lynching. • Think for a moment about the number of prosecutions of lynching criminals in the 1960s in the South. What does that say about the perceived value of various kinds of life? • Honor killing, or “dowry death” was a valid defense under law in some places of India until very recently. This places the value of a wife’s life subordinate to the honor of the family and the judgment of the family elders. • This has changed. The general Indian culture now puts the sanctity of a woman’s life above all other factors.
American values • Name some values that are held by most Americans (broadly speaking).
Personal values • List 3 views you hold dear- for example: ‘Animals should have the same rights as humans.’ For each one, consider how that view affects what you do or do not do in terms of: (1) what you believe, and (2) how this affects what you do.
Communal values • Imagine you are the manager of a small establishment providing care for vulnerable adults or children. You are interviewing for new staff and want to ensure that your reputation as a provider of high-quality care is maintained. What values would you be looking for in the responses of the candidate?
Communal values • If you were on the receiving end of care, what values would you expect from a social worker? • What is the difference between your responses to this question and your responses to the last one?
History, values & social well-being of the Nation • So, what does all this have to do with social work and/or social welfare?? • Why do we bother learning this?? • Who cares?? Is there anything we can learn from the past in the area of social welfare?