Progressive Community Organizing : A Critical Approach for a Globalizing World

This interdisciplinary textbook offers a comprehensive view of the central issues facing progressive community organizers who seek to mobilize those negatively impacted by local, national, and global social policies and practices. Intended for both undergraduate and graduate students in social work, it aims to articulate the depth of the subject by introducing students to the philosophical, political, and sociological theories that inform community organizing and advocacy. These topics are explored in detail through such examples as the labour movement, environmental organizing, feminist movements, and faith-based movements as a way to inform social work community practice. The author emphasizes the importance of a thorough understanding of why and how people get together to effect change in their own communities. Ongoing debates and controversies that face organizers and advocates in the social work profession are also considered.

Each chapter includes relevant discussion questions for reflection, as well as a list of useful books and websites for further inquiry. Also included are numerous case studies from community efforts in Post-Katrina New Orleans, many of which the author has been involved in herself, providing a recent and widely recognized series of real world examples that will be easily accessible for students and professors around the world.

University at Albany, State University of New York, USA