Rencontre scientifique «Social work as action science. An international comparison on epistemological positions»

Le 8 novembre à Neuchâtel et en ligne, l’Institut transdisciplinaire de travail social de l’Université de Neuchâtel consacre une journée d’étude au travail social comme science d’action, avec une perspective internationale.

© ITTSSocial work can be considered as action-oriented discipline. Yet the meaning and the implementation of such an affirmation needs to be questioned as it depends on traditions of specific language- and approach-based scientific communities and on historical as well as socio- and geopolitical positions. The scope of the scientific meeting is to explore and discuss different epistemological positionings, along four criteria: the character of the scientific premise ; the object of social work ; the connection between theory and practice ; the normative character of the position.

The question of how to think about the discipline of social work also implies the formal constitution of a discipline based on university chairs, various fields of research and practice, as well as a collectivity of scholars. Certain experts consider the academic development of social work as the prototype of an innovative way of conceiving a discipline: The discipline is based on the diversification of fields of social action, but also of conceptual and methodological approaches as the subject of disciplinary debates. It further connects research with practice and models of intervention for essential social work knowledge. Finally, different types of knowledge and skills are valued.

This way to discuss social work enables the participants to perceive how the international definition of social work and the orientation of the discipline as one of action are making headway. Above all, it illustrates how social work itself defines what constitutes relevant knowledge for its own field. It will become visible, how much, drawing on a culture of dialectical discussion, a critical and challenging view of society and appropriate interventions, social work can also retain its militant character beyond professional narcissism.

Program (provisional)

• 8h30–9h00 Welcome
• 9h00–10h30 Perspectives from Canada & USA
• 11h00–12h30 Perspectives from France & Germany
• 14h00–15h30 Perspectives from French and German speaking Switzerland

Speakers

• Kris Clarke, University of Helsinki
• Annamaria Colombo, UAS Western Switzerland
• Emmanuel Jovelin, CNAM, Paris
• Amélie Maugère, University of Montreal
• Peter Sommerfeld, Swiss Society of Social Work
• And also Barbara Waldis, Isabelle Csupor, Julia Emprechtinger

Participation on registration. Registration dates and links will be available after the summer break.

Flyer (pdf)