‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work Academy
Recent years have witnessed an eruption of what have been termed culture wars, often converging around the messier aspects of interpersonal relationships and corresponding identity issues that are complex, sensitive, and contested. These are emotive topics that are often colonised by activist groups...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Societies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/9/4/71 |
| _version_ | 1811259236885200896 |
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| author | Jane Fenton Mark Smith |
| author_facet | Jane Fenton Mark Smith |
| author_sort | Jane Fenton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent years have witnessed an eruption of what have been termed culture wars, often converging around the messier aspects of interpersonal relationships and corresponding identity issues that are complex, sensitive, and contested. These are emotive topics that are often colonised by activist groups, and consequently have become enveloped in particular regimes of truth and assertive identity politics. They are often also, by their nature, the kind of issues that are central to social work practice. This can lead to pressure on social workers and social work students to think that these orthodoxies ought to underpin and define the profession, which in turn can lead to the silencing of alternative opinions and the closing down of dissent. This article seeks to locate identity politics in a political and cultural context. It goes on to set out classic arguments for free speech, viewpoint diversity, and for the need for social work to embrace and engage with such. It explores the notion that the closing down of debate about contentious issues, the disincentives that exist to expressing controversial opinions, and the uncritical adoption of ideological orthodoxies work against the development of the critical thinking skills that are essential for social work practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T18:27:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ae5782aee0914cb192c16b89659cc4d8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4698 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T18:27:28Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Societies |
| spelling | doaj.art-ae5782aee0914cb192c16b89659cc4d82022-12-22T03:21:12ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982019-10-01947110.3390/soc9040071soc9040071‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work AcademyJane Fenton0Mark Smith1School of Education and Social Work, The University of Dundee, Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4HN, UKSchool of Education and Social Work, The University of Dundee, Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4HN, UKRecent years have witnessed an eruption of what have been termed culture wars, often converging around the messier aspects of interpersonal relationships and corresponding identity issues that are complex, sensitive, and contested. These are emotive topics that are often colonised by activist groups, and consequently have become enveloped in particular regimes of truth and assertive identity politics. They are often also, by their nature, the kind of issues that are central to social work practice. This can lead to pressure on social workers and social work students to think that these orthodoxies ought to underpin and define the profession, which in turn can lead to the silencing of alternative opinions and the closing down of dissent. This article seeks to locate identity politics in a political and cultural context. It goes on to set out classic arguments for free speech, viewpoint diversity, and for the need for social work to embrace and engage with such. It explores the notion that the closing down of debate about contentious issues, the disincentives that exist to expressing controversial opinions, and the uncritical adoption of ideological orthodoxies work against the development of the critical thinking skills that are essential for social work practice.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/9/4/71critical thinkingidentity politicsacademic freedomfree speechvictimhoodanti-discriminatory practice |
| spellingShingle | Jane Fenton Mark Smith ‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work Academy Societies critical thinking identity politics academic freedom free speech victimhood anti-discriminatory practice |
| title | ‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work Academy |
| title_full | ‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work Academy |
| title_fullStr | ‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work Academy |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work Academy |
| title_short | ‘You Can’t Say That!’: Critical Thinking, Identity Politics, and the Social Work Academy |
| title_sort | you can t say that critical thinking identity politics and the social work academy |
| topic | critical thinking identity politics academic freedom free speech victimhood anti-discriminatory practice |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/9/4/71 |
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