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9781412851602

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<p> For decades the human service professions have been enthralled with empowerment practice, mistaking talk therapy and personal adjustment for an effective challenge to socioeconomic inequality. Empowerment as Ceremony aims to end that romance. Epstein's trenchant analysis traces the revolutionary roots of the idea of empowerment to its degeneration into a deeply conservative accommodation to the status quo through small scale self-help, encouraging adaptation to social norms, consciousness raising, and re-education. He challenges the usefulness of empowerment practice on historical, ideological, and empirical grounds. This bracing critique takes few prisoners and those it confines for questioning are not treated kindly. Empowerment practice, he argues, does not challenge the ruling class, but rather serves ceremonial functions by engaging in the 'literary theatrics of liberation.' <p> --Stuart A. Kirk, professor emeritus, Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA <p> Social work as a field has focused on empowerment rather than self-efficacy. Dr. Esptein's thoughtful and provocative consideration of the problems with the use of the construct of empowerment takes the reader a long way towards understanding why social work has suffered from pursuing this path. <p> --Gary Holden, Ph.D., professor, New York University Silver School of Social Work

This very useful volume is based upon Dr. Epstein's review of the most influential and principal scholarly works in the field of empowerment, empowerment practice, and ceremony. . . . This book is a wonderful resource for all levels of social work academicians. . . . Concise writing, in-depth scholarship, and thought-provoking insights. --Thomas A. Artelt, Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal In his usual brilliantly captivating expressive writing style, he [William Epstein] makes a persuasive argument questioning the overall effectiveness of empowerment practices. This book should be read by social work educators and scholars, policy makers, helping professionals, and by those who are publicly minded intellectuals. His command of the history of American social policy, the practice of social welfare, and his amalgamation of sociological and political literature significantly enrich his arguments. This book is a significant contribution to the social work profession and scholarship, which should cause a long and deep pause about our thinking concerning teaching and promoting empowerment practices as a core, efficacious practice strategy and valued ideology. Epstein provides a corrective lens to understanding how empowerment practices in human services and social policy function to uphold and help the oppressed adapt to narcissistic American values rather than to change underlying social policy and political forces that favor the privilege by further delimiting the redistribution of resources and opportunities. --Jeff Skinner, Research on Social Work Practices For decades the human service professions have been enthralled with empowerment practice, mistaking talk therapy and personal adjustment for an effective challenge to socioeconomic inequality. Empowerment as Ceremony aims to end that romance. Epstein's trenchant analysis traces the revolutionary roots of the idea of empowerment to its degeneration into a deeply conservative accommodation to the status quo through small scale self-help, encouraging adaptation to social norms, consciousness raising, and re-education. He challenges the usefulness of empowerment practice on historical, ideological, and empirical grounds. This bracing critique takes few prisoners and those it confines for questioning are not treated kindly. Empowerment practice, he argues, does not challenge the ruling class, but rather serves ceremonial functions by engaging in the 'literary theatrics of liberation.' --Stuart A. Kirk, professor emeritus, Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA Social work as a field has focused on empowerment rather than self-efficacy. Dr. Epstein's thoughtful and provocative consideration of the problems with the use of the construct of empowerment takes the reader a long way towards understanding why social work has suffered from pursuing this path. --Gary Holden, Ph.D., professor, New York University Silver School of Social Work

For decades the human service professions have been enthralled with empowerment practice, mistaking talk therapy and personal adjustment for an effective challenge to socioeconomic inequality. Empowerment as Ceremony aims to end that romance. Epstein's trenchant analysis traces the revolutionary roots of the idea of empowerment to its degeneration into a deeply conservative accommodation to the status quo through small scale self-help, encouraging adaptation to social norms, consciousness raising, and re-education. He challenges the usefulness of empowerment practice on historical, ideological, and empirical grounds. This bracing critique takes few prisoners and those it confines for questioning are not treated kindly. Empowerment practice, he argues, does not challenge the ruling class, but rather serves ceremonial functions by engaging in the 'literary theatrics of liberation.' --Stuart A. Kirk, professor emeritus, Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA Social work as a field has focused on empowerment rather than self-efficacy. Dr. Epstein's thoughtful and provocative consideration of the problems with the use of the construct of empowerment takes the reader a long way towards understanding why social work has suffered from pursuing this path. --Gary Holden, Ph.D., professor, New York University Silver School of Social Work

-This very useful volume is based upon Dr. Epstein's review of the most influential and principal scholarly works in the field of empowerment, empowerment practice, and ceremony. . . . This book is a wonderful resource for all levels of social work academicians. . . . Concise writing, in-depth scholarship, and thought-provoking insights.- --Thomas A. Artelt, Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal -In his usual brilliantly captivating expressive writing style, he [William Epstein] makes a persuasive argument questioning the overall effectiveness of empowerment practices. This book should be read by social work educators and scholars, policy makers, helping professionals, and by those who are publicly minded intellectuals. His command of the history of American social policy, the practice of social welfare, and his amalgamation of sociological and political literature significantly enrich his arguments. This book is a significant contribution to the social work profession and scholarship, which should cause a long and deep pause about our thinking concerning teaching and promoting empowerment practices as a core, efficacious practice strategy and valued ideology. Epstein provides a corrective lens to understanding how empowerment practices in human services and social policy function to uphold and help the oppressed adapt to narcissistic American values rather than to change underlying social policy and political forces that favor the privilege by further delimiting the redistribution of resources and opportunities.- --Jeff Skinner, Research on Social Work Practices -For decades the human service professions have been enthralled with empowerment practice, mistaking talk therapy and personal adjustment for an effective challenge to socioeconomic inequality. Empowerment as Ceremony aims to end that romance. Epstein's trenchant analysis traces the revolutionary roots of the idea of empowerment to its degeneration into a deeply conservative accommodation to the status quo through small scale self-help, encouraging adaptation to social norms, consciousness raising, and re-education. He challenges the usefulness of empowerment practice on historical, ideological, and empirical grounds. This bracing critique takes few prisoners and those it confines for questioning are not treated kindly. Empowerment practice, he argues, does not challenge the ruling class, but rather serves ceremonial functions by engaging in the 'literary theatrics of liberation.'- --Stuart A. Kirk, professor emeritus, Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA -Social work as a field has focused on empowerment rather than self-efficacy. Dr. Epstein's thoughtful and provocative consideration of the problems with the use of the construct of empowerment takes the reader a long way towards understanding why social work has suffered from pursuing this path.- --Gary Holden, Ph.D., professor, New York University Silver School of Social Work

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William M. Epstein is professor of social work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA. He is the author of numerous books, including Welfare in America: How Social Science Fails the Poor and The Illusion of Psychotherapy.

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