Session: Politics As Praxis: Moving from What Is to What Could be (Society for Social Work and Research 30th Annual Conference Anniversary)

Despite social work's explicit commitment to eliminating racism (Grand Challenges for Social Work, 2020) and the educational policy and accreditation standard to prepare social work students to engage in anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion in practice (CSWE, 2022), recent executive orders have limited the ability for social work faculty to meaningfully engage in research and teaching that advances these commitments. In response, this symposium brings together three studies that employ diverse methods to explicate how social work researchers can continue to advance social and racial justice and inform policy and practice in the face of political repression. The session seeks to deepen our understanding of how social work researchers, communities, and movements navigate and challenge systems of political oppression, while also offering critical insights into the role of hope in envisioning and enacting radical transformations.

This symposium presents three studies that explore the interconnections between politics, political repression, resistance, and radical hope in social work research and practice. The first paper presents data from a multi-state survey of MSW students and underscores the necessity of teaching students about institutional racism to ensure social work students engage in political behavior with clients. The results of this study highlight the need for social work faculty to be able to teach and discuss issues of race and racism with their students. The next paper presents a critical collaborative autoethnography that examines the ways political repression shapes social work research and teaching, focusing on how critical social work scholars maintain their research centered on addressing racism in the face of anti-DEI and anti-CRT legislation. The final paper presents an interpretive phenomenological analysis exploring the concept of collective grief and critical hope, emphasizing how arts-based research methods can engage participants in fostering critical hope as a transformative force in political struggles for social change. The discussant will end the symposium with three questions: (1) How can social work research serve as both a form of resistance and a tool for reimagining political futures, especially in contexts of state repression? (2) In what ways does social work research challenge dominant political narratives and contribute to changes in individuals, organizations, communities, and policies? (3) How does the intersection of resistance and critical social work research contribute to the creation of alternative political imaginaries, and what role does this play in sustaining long-term movements for social change?

Together, these papers highlight the critical interplay between political repression, acts of resistance, and the enduring power of radical hope in shaping critical social work research and inspiring social change. This symposium encourages dialogue among scholars inviting reflection on the ongoing relevance of these concepts in our current political moment.on 4-14-2025-->