Harnessing History: Integrating Historical Methods into Social Work Education

Presenter(s)

Jessica Toft, PhD (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Justin S. Harty, PhD, MSW, LCSW (he/him/his)

Assistant Professor
Arizona State University
Stephen Monroe Tomczak, Ph.D., L. M.S.W.

Professor of Social Welfare Policy & Community Organization
Southern Connecticut State University

Contributor(s)

MA

Mimi Abramovitz, DSW

Professor Emerita
Hunter College, CUNY
Jane McPherson, PhD, MPH, LCSW (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
University of Georgia School of Social Work

This hands-on interactive workshop will introduce and apply historical methodologies by centering the disability justice movement. Guided small groups will apply longstanding and emerging techniques to a case example from the movement. A facilitated discussion will address what students learn through historical study and how to integrate methods into teaching.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:

1) Educators will gain hands-on experience in methods of historical analysis centering the disability justice movement.
2) Participants will learn strategies for efficient background reading, data collection, and analysis of various historical materials, such as archival documents, newspapers, public art, and oral histories, using materials from the disability justice movement.
3) Through engaging in guided historical analysis, participants will learn how historical methods can shed light on contemporary challenges in all social work arenas.