The neglected paraphernalia of practice? Objects and artefacts in social work identity, practice and research

Scholar, HF

Abstract

Artefacts, objects and paraphernalia and their relationship to social work practice and identity have attracted little attention in social work despite their ubiquity in all aspects of our lives. This article introduces some theoretical perspectives on the qualities of artefacts and the nature of relationships between the material and social worlds; and considers the ways in which artefacts have been understood in social work research to date. It concludes by suggesting that noticing when and how social workers engage with artefacts may contribute to the development of our understanding of social work’s relationship with the non-human world, and offer new insights into aspects of social work identity and practice.

Citation

Scholar, H. (2017). The neglected paraphernalia of practice? Objects and artefacts in social work identity, practice and research. Qualitative Social Work, 16(5), 631-648. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325016637911

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Mar 22, 2016
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Feb 3, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 12, 2016
• Journal: Qualitative Social Work
• Print ISSN: 1473-3250
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-3117
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 631-648
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325016637911
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1473325016637911
• Related Public URLs: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/journal/qualitative-social-work