Post-Anthropocentric Social Work - Critical Perspectives

In this review of Post-Anthropocentric Social Work, the editors Vivienne Bozalek and Bob Pease gather essays that challenge the prevailing human-centred assumptions in social work. The book is best for academics, postgraduate students and practitioners seeking to rethink ethical frameworks and practice beyond human exceptionalism; its single biggest reason to read is the rigorous engagement with theories that unsettle liberal humanism and open space for alternative ethical sensibilities. This review highlights how the collection draws on affect, feminist new materialism and critical posthumanism to reframe social work thinking.

Key Features

• Critical theoretical focus: The book foregrounds critiques of anthropocentrism to prompt readers to reassess taken-for-granted assumptions in social work.
• Interdisciplinary voices: Contributors draw on affect theory, feminist new materialism and critical posthumanism to broaden the analytic toolkit available to practitioners and scholars.
• Ethical reframing: The collection develops a post-anthropocentric ethical sensibility that values human and non-human entanglements in practice and policy thinking.
• Challenge to human rights framing: Essays interrogate how a liberal humanist human rights framework can inadvertently sustain human privilege and exceptionalism.
• Edited collection format: The range of essays offers multiple entry points for readers to engage with alternative imaginaries for social work rather than a single prescriptive approach.

Who It's For

This book will suit social work academics, doctoral and masters students, and reflective practitioners who want to deepen their theoretical understanding and question core assumptions about the human subject in social policy and practice. Those already working with feminist new materialism or interested in affect theory will find substantive conceptual resources and provocations.

Readers seeking a practical how-to manual or step-by-step clinical guidance should look elsewhere; this is a theoretical and critical volume intended to shift frameworks and imagination rather than provide intervention protocols.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Offers a sustained theoretical challenge to anthropocentrism that can reshape ethical thinking in social work.
• Brings interdisciplinary perspectives together, making complex ideas accessible to engaged readers.
• Encourages praxis-oriented reflection by connecting theory to questions of practice, policy and value.

Cons

• The collection is primarily theoretical, so practitioners seeking concrete tools may find it abstract.

Specifications

Title	Post-Anthropocentric Social Work (Routledge Advances in Social Work)
Editors/Authors	Vivienne Bozalek, Bob Pease
Series	Routledge Advances in Social Work
Subject	Social work, critical posthumanism, feminist new materialism
Focus	Critique of anthropocentrism and liberal humanist frameworks

Our Verdict

Post-Anthropocentric Social Work is a thoughtful and timely edited collection for readers who want to challenge the human-centred foundations of social work. It is good value for scholars and students seeking rigorous theoretical provocations and new ethical imaginaries, though practitioners looking for hands-on methods may need to supplement it with practice-focused texts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book offer practical social work techniques?
Answer. The volume is primarily theoretical and aims to reframe thinking rather than supply direct clinical or intervention techniques.

Which theoretical traditions are most represented?
Answer. The collection draws heavily on affect theory, feminist new materialism and critical posthumanist perspectives to critique liberal humanism.

Who edited the book?
Answer. The editors are Vivienne Bozalek and Bob Pease, presented within the Routledge Advances in Social Work series.