1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910453513603321

Autore

Ehrenreich John <1943->

Titolo

The altruistic imagination : a history of social work and social policy in the United States / / John H. Ehrenreich

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, New York : , : Cornell University Press, , 1985

©1985

ISBN

0-8014-7122-2

1-322-52238-3

0-8014-7123-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (272 p.)

Disciplina

361.3/0973

Soggetti

Social service - United States - History

Electronic books.

United States Social policy

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. The Origins of American Social Policy -- 2. Casework and the Emergence of Social Work as a Profession -- 3. The Construction of the Welfare State -- 4. The Crisis in Social Work, 1929-1945 -- 5. Social Policy in the Affluent Society, 1945-1960 -- 6. Kennedy, Johnson, and the Great Society -- 7. A House Divided: The Second Crisis in Social Work, 1960-1980 -- 8. The Next Phase -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Social work and social policy in the United States have always had a complex and troubled relationship. In The Altruistic Imagination, John H. Ehrenreich offers a critical interpretation of their intertwined histories, seeking to understand the problems that face these two vital institutions in American society.Ehrenreich demonstrates that the emphasis of social work has always vacillated between individual treatment and social reform. Tracing this ever-changing focus from the Progressive Era, through the development of the welfare state, the New Deal, and the affluent 1950s and 1960s, into the administration of Ronald Reagan, he places the evolution of social work in the context of political, cultural, and ideological trends, noting the paradoxes inherent



in the attempt to provide essential services and reflect at the same time the intentions of the state. He concludes by examining the turning point faced by the social work profession in the 1980s, indicated by a return to casework and a withdrawal from social policy concerns.