Praxis for the Poor : Piven and Cloward and the Future of Social Science in Social Welfare

by Schram, Sanford F.

• ISBN13: 9780814798188
• ISBN10: 0814798187
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-11-01
• Publisher: New York University Press

Summary

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.Schram poses an important challenge for those who would like to restore to political science its sometime concern with power and inequality. -- American Politics Book ReviewôThis wonderfully lucid, well developed volume should perhaps have been called Suggested Praxis for the Poor, since, instead of describing the current state of welfare, the author argues for a revamped praxis that would rescue our failing programsà.Highly recommended.ö--Library JournalPraxis for the Poor offers a thought-provoking, even moving, challenge to progressive intellectuals. Engagingly written, it shines a bright light on issues of research, advocacy, and the doleful character of the country's system of social welfare.--Ira Katznelson, Columbia UniversityA significant achievement. This is a passionate critique that embodies the very politically-engaged scholarship for which it calls.--Nancy Campbell, Rensselaer Polytechnic InstitutePraxis for the Poor puts the relationship of politics to scholarship front and center through an examination of the work of Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward. Piven and Cloward proved that social science could inform social-policy politics in ways that helped energize a movement. Praxis for the Poor offers a critical reflection on their work and builds upon it, demonstrating how a more politically-engaged scholarship can contribute to the struggle for social justice.Necessary reading for political scientists, sociologists, social workers, social welfare activists, policy-makers, and anyone concerned with the plight of the poor and oppressed, Praxis for the Poor shows how social science can play a role in building a better future for social welfare.

Author Biography

Sanford F. Schram teaches social policy and social theory in the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(8)
I The Theory of Practice	9	(128)
What Accessibility Can't Do: The Politics of Welfare Scholarship	11	(22)
The Future of the Past: Jane Addams and the Social Work of Politics	33	(16)
Radical Incrementalism Personified: The Piven and Cloward Legacy	49	(60)
Which Side Are You On? Rethinking Research and Advocacy in Social Welfare	109	(28)
II The Practice of Theory	137	(104)
The Old Is New: The Racial Basis of Welfare Reform	139	(18)
Putting a Black Face on Welfare: The Good and the Bad	157	(29)
Success Stories: Welfare Reform, Policy Discourse, and the Politics of Research	186	(15)
Sanford F. Schram
Joe Soss
Compliant Subjects for a New World Order: Globalization and the Behavior Modification Regime of Welfare Reform	201	(40)
Appendix: Sources and Measures for Data in Chapter 5	241	(4)
Notes	245	(46)
Index	291	(12)
About the Author	303