The Social Solidarity Economy and the Hull-House Tradition of Social Work: Keys for Unlocking the Potential of Social Work for Sustainable Social Development

Michael Emru Tadesse () and Susanne Elsen
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Michael Emru Tadesse: ASTRA Project, Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Regensburger Allee 16—viale Ratisbona 16, 39042 Bressanone-Brixen, Italy
Susanne Elsen: ASTRA Project, Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Regensburger Allee 16—viale Ratisbona 16, 39042 Bressanone-Brixen, Italy

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-24

Abstract: Social work (SW) is criticized for its (i) inconsistent ontology, epistemology, and methodology and (ii) co-dependency with the capitalist hegemony, which is the main cause of multiple crises that primarily affect the most vulnerable. Addressing these issues is of paramount importance if SW is to achieve its core mandate of promoting social change, social development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. The purpose of this paper is to assert that SW can address these issues by learning from the (i) Settlement House Movement (SHM), especially the Hull-House tradition of SW; and (ii) current endeavors of the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE). We were led to this assertion because we noticed in our research, in the area of SSE of vulnerable groups and SW, remarkable similarities and potentials of these two approaches to help transform SW. Our argument is based on data and insight gained from (i) a narrative literature review on the history of SW and the nature of SSE; and (ii) a systematic scoping review of the SSE of People of African Descent (PAD) in Europe. In this paper, we elaborate on our key arguments and provide examples and recommendations.

Keywords: Jane Addams; Hull-House; migration; people of African descent; Settlement House Movement; social development; social sustainability; social solidarity economy; social work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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