Konturen der Kritik

The book analyses how contributions to the theorising of critical social work discursively construct and legitimise social realities. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s discourse theory, it develops a methodological toolkit (‘DiscoursMosaic’, ‘Discursive In-Depth Analysis’, ‘Epistemic Position Trace’) to examine modes of observation and practices of production in key German-language texts. At its core is the concept of ‘discursive duality’, which shows how the discourse of critical social work is shaped by tensions – for example between control and emancipation or structure- and subject-orientation – that both stabilise and transform it. The study thus advances a more reflexive theorising and professionalisation of critical social work.