Abstract

This book identifies and analyses theoretical, empirical and methodological issues in the construction of a contemporary sociology of social work. This is generally defined as being informed by a critical appreciation of modern sociology and addressed to social work as a whole. The first chapter shows that this definition is inaccurate. The author criticises existing conventional sociologies with an argument that the sociology of social work also has to be a sociology of sociology in critically selecting and fashioning its own analytical tools. A new theoretical framework (anti-reductionism) is developed and shown to be empirically productive. The book concludes with proposals for the future.