overview of the Historical and Contextual development ● 21Increasingly visible among sociologists are “public sociologists” who seek
to engage with wide audiences and multiple stakeholders to advance both
analytic and practical prosocial goals (Burawoy 2005; Calhoun 2007;
Crothers 2008; Jeffries 2009). As sociologists endeavor to understand and
address wicked problems—complex social issues that cannot be adequately
approached from a single perspective (Rittel and Webber 1973)—they
become reengaged in interdisciplinary teams that include social workers.
Since 2011, a yearly International Conference on Sociology and Social Work
has brought together increasing numbers of participants from Europe, the
United States, the United Kingdom, and Australasia to reveal, discuss, and
celebrate their involvements in such joint work efforts. These conferences are
unique in providing a forum where scholars from both disciplines are invited
to “explore the various forms of interaction and cooperation between the two
disciplines and the forms of knowledge they enable” (International Confer-
ence on Sociology and Social Work 2013).
In relation to the second area in which sociologists and social work have
found common ground—that is, the commodification of the social sciences—
many international commentators have expressed concerns over increasing
instrumentalization in the social sciences, including social work and sociology.
This instrumentalization involves an intense focus on the employment
readiness of graduates; it has been identified as occurring in the context of a
global neoliberal agenda, the decline of the welfare state, and the diminishing
support for the social sciences (Amaral and Magalhães 2004; Connell 2000;
Healy and Meagher 2004; Lorenz 2005, 2008; Thorns 2003).
For social work, the demands made by governments, by employers, and
latterly by registration boards have led to a competency-driven focus on
the part of many educators, particularly from the 1990s (Churchman and
Woodhouse 1999). Following on from historical tendencies, social work
educators have continued to look outward and to forge strong stakeholder
connections outside the university, leading to weaker cross-disciplinary
links. Although many social workers have continued to learn about sociology,
they have let slip their interactive, practical relationships with their fellow
social scientists.
Kelly and Stanley (2012) expressed concern that, while social work had
turned too far toward individualistic responses, sociology had also moved too
far away from its praxis roots. They suggested that the disciplines could learn
from each other and that doing so was essential in facing the risks that the
neoliberal context posed to both disciplines. Indeed, sociologists and social
workers are turning to one another regarding their shared concern about
retaining their positions as social critics, in spite of pressures to become mere
purveyors of the skills demanded by employers.