SOSV3220 Social Work in a Global Context Course description

The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the historical and contemporary context in which social work has been developed and is practised. The course will critically consider the Western, power-based knowledge and theoretical perspectives that inform and are reinforced in social work, and the influence this has globally. This will be considered through focus on decolonial history, intersectional perspectives and globalisation processes.

The course will also focus on how social work has been developed within specific contexts of practice. We will demonstrate how theory is connected to practice within social work. We use a case-based approach in which we explore social work, as practised in Norway and other countries, to demonstrate the importance of contextualisation as a framework for understanding social work theories and practice. Through an investigation of cases, we will also explore the ways in which practice reaffirms certain theories as ‘normal’ and ‘natural’.

The student must have passed all exams in the first and second year of the programme.

Knowledge

The student has knowledge of

• the ways in which perspectives in social work are shaped within specific social and normative contexts and how the field of social work also shapes our understandings of the contexts within which we practice

• the history and development of social work and its influence on contemporary understandings of social work globally
• hegemonic knowledge production in social work, contemporary social problems, social inequalities and systems of oppression for social work in an international context

Skills 

The student can

• identify different perspectives and apply knowledge about how these perspectives are shaped within specific contexts

• critically reflect on how specific conceptualisations shape social work understandings, how context-based and power-based perspectives shape social work practice and how social work practices reinforce these perspectives
• understand how context is key to understanding how social work practice and services are developed and delivered, with reference to values, ethics and anti-oppressive practice

General competence

The student can

• identify and communicate knowledge concerning different, global perspectives on key issues taken up in the field of social work
• exchange knowledge about how dominant norms within social work function to set the premises for models applied and for the meaning this has at the social and individual levels

The course is based on lectures, class exercises, homework assignments and assigned literature. Students are expected to read the course literature and to actively participate in the course meetings, with an emphasis on dialogue.

If no students from abroad are registered for the course, teaching and discussions will alternate between Norwegian and English, as appropriate.

Emnet gjev ei innføring i viktige standardar og praksisar innanfor metadataproduksjon i den norske og internasjonale biblioteksektoren. Å forstå metodar og grunnleggjande prinsipp for praktisk katalogisering og emnebeskriving er viktige læringsmål, men emnet søker også å gje studentane innsikt i andre utfordringar knytt til metadata, inkludert metadatakvalitet, interoperabilitet og etiske sider ved metadataproduksjon.

Undervisinga er på norsk.

Ingen forkunnskapskrav.

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Grade scale A-F.

• Studenten skal etter å ha fullført emnet ha følgende totale læringsutbytte definert i kunnskap, ferdigheter og generell kompetanse:

Kunnskaper

Studenten

• har grunnleggende kunnskap om registreringsstandarder og metadataskjemaer for beskrivelse og gjenfinning av ulike dokumenttyper i bibliotek
• har grunnleggende kunnskap om metadatakvalitet og betydningen for gjenfinning og utveksling
• har god kunnskap om emnebeskrivelse og emnespråk

Ferdigheter

Studenten

• har grunnleggende ferdigheter i å analysere og beskrive ulike dokumenttyper med tanke på gjenfinning i bibliotek
• har grunnleggende ferdigheter i å vurdere og evaluere bibliografiske registreringsstandarder og metadataskjemaer
• har grunnleggende ferdigheter i innholdsanalyse av dokumenter og bruk av emnespråk.

Generell kompetanse

Studenten

• har kompetanse i bruk av digitale verktøy og teknologi
• har erfaring i samarbeid og arbeidsdeling
• har evne til å formidle og diskutere teknologi og bruk av teknologi i egen disiplin

Erika Gubrium and Ariana Guilherme Fernandes