Empowerment: A Critique (routledge Key Themes In Health And Society)

‘Empowerment’ is a term in widespread use today and one that is often considered to be a self-evident good. Here, McLaughlin explores its emergence in the 1960s through to its rise in the 1990s and ubiquity in present day discourse and interrogates its social status, paying particular attention to social policy, social work and health and social care discourse. He argues that a focus on empowerment has superseded the notion of political subjects exercising power autonomously. This innovative volume: - Discusses the relationship between concepts of empowerment and power, as they have been understood historically. - Analyses changes in the conception and meaning of empowerment in relation to the shifting social and political landscape. - Acknowledges the positive impact empowerment strategies have had on those who have campaigned to be empowered and also on those who have saw their role as being to help empower others. - Highlights ways in which talk about empowerment can actually work in such a way as to further disempower those already marginalised. Critically examining how ‘empowerment’ has become embedded in contemporary social and political life, this work offers a discussion of the term’s multiple meanings, what it actually entails, and how it constructs and positions those being empowered and those empowering. Èmpowerment' is a term in widespread use today and one that is often considered to be a self-evident good. Here, McLaughlin explores its emergence in the 1960s through to its rise in the 1990s and ubiquity in present day discourse and interrogates its social status, paying particular attention to social policy, social work and health and social care discourse. He argues that a focus on empowerment has superseded the notion of political subjects exercising power autonomously. This innovative volume: - Discusses the relationship between concepts of empowerment and power, as they have been understood historically. - Analyses changes in the conception and meaning of empowerment in relation to the shifting social and political landscape. - Acknowledges the positive impact empowerment strategies have had on those who have campaigned to be empowered and also on those who have saw their role as being to help empower others. - Highlights ways in which talk about empowerment can actually work in such a way as to further disempower those already marginalised. Critically examining how èmpowerment' has become embedded in contemporary social and political life, this work offers a discussion of the term's multiple meanings, what it actually entails, and how it constructs and positions those being empowered and those empowering Empowerment' is a term in widespread use today and one that is often considered to be a self-evident good. Here, McLaughlin explores its emergence in the 1960s through to its rise in the 1990s and ubiquity in present day discourse and interrogates its social status, paying particular attention to social policy, social work and health and social care discourse. He argues that a focus on empowerment has superseded the notion of political subjects exercising power autonomously. This innovative volume: - Discusses the relationship between concepts of empowerment and power, as they have been understood historically. - Analyses changes in the conception and meaning of empowerment in relation to the shifting social and political landscape. - Acknowledges the positive impact empowerment strategies have had on those who have campaigned to be empowered and also on those who have saw their role as being to help empower others. - Highlights ways in which talk about empowerment can actually work in such a way as to further disempower those already marginalised.0Critically examining how 'empowerment' has become embedded in contemporary social and political life, this work offers a discussion of the term's multiple meanings, what it actually entails, and how it constructs and positions those being empowered and those empowering Cover 1 Title 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 10 1 Power in modernity 16 2 Power in postmodernity 32 3 From power to empowerment 47 4 Empowerment and social work 62 5 From consciousness- raising to awareness-raising 74 6 Advocacy research and social policy 85 7 From public health to personal empowerment 98 8 The politics of nudge: empowerment by subterfuge 114 Conclusion: the subject of empowerment 133 References 138 Index 153 1. Introduction: Setting the Scene 2. Power in Modernity 3. Power in Postmodernity 4. From Power to Empowerment 5. Empowerment and Social Work 6. From Consciousness-Raising to Awareness-Raising 7. Advocacy Research and Social Policy 8. From Public Health to Personal Empowerment 9. The Politics of Nudge: Empowerment by Subterfuge 10. Conclusion: The Subject of Empowerment 'Empowerment' is a term in widespread use today and one that is often considered to be a self-evident good. Here, McLaughlin explores its rise from the 1990s to the present day and interrogates its uncontroversial status, paying particular attention to social policy, social work and health and social care discourse.