1st Edition
The Ecosocial Transition of Societies The contribution of social work and social policy
Introduction
1. It is the Time for Social Work and Social Policy Research on the Ecosocial Transition (Aila-Leena Matthies and Kati Närhi)
Part 1: Concepts
2. The Conceptualisation of Ecosocial Transition (Aila-Leena Matthies)
3. The Relational Conception of Wellbeing (Tuula Helne and Tuuli Hirvilammi)
4. Community Based Economy and Ecosocial Transition (Susanne Elsen)
5. Thinking about Commons – A Post-capitalist Perspective for Social Work (Jef Peeters)
Part 2: Tackling Challenges and Complexities
6. Ecosocial Work – Reflections from the Global South (Margaret Alston)
7. Scopes for Adivasi-centred Ecosocial Work in an Indian Mining Region? (Satu Ranta-Tyrkkö and Bipin Jojo)
8. Instrumentalism and Environmental Justice: People’s Cooperative Renewable Energy in Mauritius (Komalsingh Rambaree)
Part 3: Sustainable Communities and Lifestyles
9. An Ecosocial Model for the Sustainability of Vulnerable Communities (Helena Belchior Rocha and Jorge Ferreira)
10. Social Work and Eco Activism: From Seed Bombs to Community Gardens, Bike Lanes to Sustainable Urbanism (Ben Shepard)
11. Local Welfare Systems in Rural Finland as a Representation of Sustainable Development (Mari Kattilakoski and Niina Rantamäki)
12. Ecosocial Transitions – Exploring the Wisdom of Our Elders (Heather Boetto and Wendy Bowles)
13. Promoting Ecosocial Transition through Permaculture: A Practice Tool for Social Work (Jennifer Boddy and Sylvia Ramsay)
Part 4: Food Politics
14. Nordic Welfare Universalism, Charity Food Aid and Environmental Ethics (Tiina Silvasti and Teea Kortetmäki)
15. Farm to Table – Promoting Nutritious and Affordable Food in a State with Varied Cultural Traditions and Scarce Water (Dorothy N. Gamble)
16. Food Poverty between Charity and the Human Right to Food: The Case of Urban Gardens in Slovenia (Vesna Leskošek and Romana Zidar)
Part 5: Profession in Change
17. The Role of Social Workers in a Time of Ecological Crisis (Subhangi Herath)
18. Transforming the Profession – Social Workers’ Expanding Response to the Environmental Crisis (Meredith C. F. Powers)
19. The Changing Understanding of the ‘Person in Environment’ in Social Work Practice (Kati Närhi)
Conclusion
20. The Contribution of Social Work and Social Policy in Ecosocial Transition of Society (Kati Närhi and Aila-Leena Matthies)
Biography
Aila-Leena Matthies is Professor of Social Work at the University of Jyväskylä, Kokkola University Consortium. She has been publishing about the ecosocial perspective of social work in Finnish, German and English since the late 1980s.
Kati Närhi is Professor of Social Work in the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her main research interests are ecosocial approach in social work, ecosocial transition, community social work, structural social work, participation and user involvement.
This book addresses the most important issues for social work as a profession in transition during a time of vast environmental challenges. Chapters range from policy and conceptualisation through to practice that focuses on sustainability, activism and food politics. This is the new face of social work, and it’s wonderful to see a contribution that incorporates contributions from so many parts of the globe. - Adjunct Professor Jennifer McKinnon, Charles Sturt University, Australia.
