Learning democracy in social work

In this contribution, we discuss the role of social work in processes of democracy. A key question in this discussion concerns the meaning of ‘the social’ in social work. This question has often been answered in a self-referential way, referring to a methodological identity of social work. This defines the educational role of social work as socialisation (be it socialisation into obedience or into an empowered citizen). However, the idea of democracy as ‘ongoing experiment’ and ‘beyond order’ challenges this methodological identity of social work. From the perspective of democracy as an ‘ongoing experiment’, the social is to be regarded as a platform for dissensus, for ongoing discussions on the relation between private and public issues in the light of human rights and social justice. Hence, the identity of social work cannot be defined in a methodological way; social work is a complex of (institutionalized) welfare practices, to be studied on their underlying views on the ‘social’ as a political and educational concept, and on the way they influence the situation of children, young people and adults in society

The EC/EU between the Art of Forgetting and the Palimpsest of Empire

© Academia Europaea 2018. The history of European integration is usually presented as both a peace project and an economic endeavour. What is largely ignored is that it also had a colonial dimension. This article first recalls this largely forgotten history, asking why and how it could be erased from memory. It then explores ways in which the EU and its predecessors constituted a new postcolonial identity and how colonial legacies somehow reappear in policies and representations.status: publishe

The invention of European human rights

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Restoration and erosion of pillarised Catholicism in Western Europe

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The Transformation of the Christian Churches in Western Europe. La transformation des églises chrétiennes en Europe occidentale, 1945-2000

© 2010 Leuven University Press. All rights reserved. Research continues to show that the Christian religion is gradually disappearing from the public, cultural and social spheres in Western Europe. Even on the individual level, institutionalised religion is becoming increasingly marginalised. Some scholars, however, speak of a repositioning of the Christian churches in post-modern Europe, citing new forms of religious life and community. This book focuses on the complex mutations the Christian churches in Western Europe have experienced since World War II. The authors offer a comparative exploration of the situations in several countries and describe the evolution (including the specific growth and decline) of the various Christian denominations.nrpages: 351status: publishe