Oct 202016
 

 


inIN RESPONSE TO:

I believe that my interests, passion and practice of a variety of tools in the arena of social permaculture, including design principles, holistic management, delegation, etc., and the drive to develop ‘systems’ for future generations; transitions bridging micro/macro sociology. But, I am certainly not well schooled in the arena of academic sociological theory, etc. I look forward to meeting one of the new Athens’ Own interns; OU student specializing in the arena of women’s studies and macrosociology. (Constantine)
excerpt: “Perhaps the most highly developed integrative effort to link microsociological and macrosociological phenomena is found in Anthony Giddens’s theory of structuration, in which “social structure is defined as both constraining and enabling of human activity as well as both internal and external to the actor.”[6] Attempts to link micro and macro phenomena are evident in a growing body of empirical research. Such work appears to follow Giddens’ view of the constraining and enabling nature of social structure for human activity and the need to link structure and action. “It appears safe to say that while macrosociology will always remain a central component of sociological theory and research, increasing effort will be devoted to creating workable models that link it with its microcounterpart.”[6]”

 
Macrosociology is an approach to sociology which emphasizes the analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale, at the level of social structure, and often at a necessarily high level of theoretical abstraction.[1]Microsociology, by contrast, focuses on the individual social agency. Mac…
EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
When I was 18 years old, I took a class called Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and this class was taught by Beth Sertell, MSW. I found it really easy to connect to my small class of about nine individuals and easy to connect to the figures in history of women’s movements. Learning about first, second, and third wave feminism was very liberating for me, especially learning about Alice Paul. Alice Paul was one of the main advocates and community organizers for the campaign to create the 19th amendment, women’s right to vote. She and several women were arrested at the gates of the White House during a peaceful protest. It is important to remember that this chain of arrests was at first seen agreeably by society because they were protesting during a time when the beginning of a war had just become the main fear of the American people. The women proceeded to participate in a hunger strike while in jail, which became a brutal secret kept from the public. The discipline and connection of these women during this movement motivated me to strive for their strength. Iron Jawed Angels is a movie recommendation for those who are further interested in Alice’s story.
I made a point to talk to Beth Sertell about how I felt about this story, I wanted her to know how much I enjoyed the idea of this new word in my life: advocacy. I truly believe that I have the ability to make big differences with advocacy and my determination. Beth asked me about considering a social work degree, rather than my previously declared environmental geography degree. I replied, “I don’t think so, I’m worried I won’t get paid enough and the stigma is not so good.” Beth smiled, “Stay after class today and I’ll tell you at least five things that will change your mind.”
That afternoon, Beth passionately convinced me to get the papers signed to change my major. She shared with me her confidence in my abilities to bring positive input, skill, and most appealingly, independent practice to social work. She told me about her private practice and she inspired me to move forward in exploring the world of social work. I also picked up the certificate program for women, gender, and sexuality studies. That certificate is the reason I received my first internship at the age of 19, when I became an intern at the Lighthouse Domestic Violence Shelter of Fairfield County.
This internship changed my life by placing me hands on, in the field, with high esteemed supervision. My skill set jumped in such a short time, but what first really gave me reason was shadowing group therapy. I got to lead with supervision and I learned from my clients the power of experience, relationships, and how those relationships and experiences interact with each other in order for my clients to find peace and meaning in conversation. These experiences included men and women and an overall enriching human vulnerability. They taught me the liberation and abilities that come from allowing vulnerability to wash over one’s soul. I witnessed this vulnerability creating a healthy atmosphere for healing.
I had a different experience when I volunteered at My Sister’s Place because my role was no longer as a shadowing clinician, my role became shadowing a shelter aid. I struggled with this position because I of the relationship between volunteer and client. With this relationship, I felt a sense of loss of trust and I believe this came from the anonymity factor of the shelter and the misunderstandings in child psychology. An example of this is being unable to truthfully respond to a child’s important questions. Although I believe the anonymity of domestic violence shelters is vital for protection, I had trouble figuring out how to respond accurately for the child’s psychological health when I and the child both know that there are evident boundaries of conversation that are vital for mom or dad’s healing. The issue is that the child recognizes the boundaries but they do not always understand why.
This experience guided me to begin shifting my practice to a macro level and examine groups and communities. Looking back to the revealing experience I had shadowing group counseling, I found that I have a strength in working and learning from an ecosystem of humans and other organisms of the Earth. One perspective I have been recently learning and using is referred to in my Dynamics of Human Behavior class as the ‘Family Resilience Perspective’. This perspective seeks to identify and strengthen family processes which allow families to rebound from distressing life experiences. There are three dimensions of this particular framework: family belief systems, organizational patterns, and communication processes.
It has become important to me to really examine these dimensions in the ecosystem of a family and examining different types and/or definitions of families. I have a goal to incorporate ecofeminist ideals in any future field work involving ecosystems and/or families in any area. “Ecofeminism is concerned with issues relating to both women and nature, focusing on interconnections between the two” (Leban 2014). Another goal I have is to express these ecofeminist ideals by comparing power and control dynamics between nature and women among current issues and battles in western civilization.
What current issues can you think of that affect a living organism’s right to a healthy life?
Leban, L. (2014). “Examining the Gendered Dimensions of Food Security: An Ecofeminist Perspective.” Environmental Philosophy. 1-7.

  6 Responses to “Why I Started Social Work With Women’s Studies”

  1. 10/21/16 author: kj
    This conversation was catalyzed via my 10/19/16 facebook post re: micro/macrosociolgy.

    Thank you Constantine and Kelly!
    I am currently reading your post out-loud with Constantine.

    I completed the read with great apprecition.

    I have seen the film “Iron Jawed Angels” in the past but have it cued up so Constantine and I can watch it together while working on a project here.

    I will also have Lucy Leban’s paper up on my computer to read in the near future: Examining the Gendered Dimensions of Food Security: An Ecofeminist Perspective.

    I have also searched out some background info re: Beth Sertell; it’s great that she has been such a strong advocate on your journey.
    Beth Sertell, MSW, LISW, MBA, CDCA
    Holistic Consultation, LLC.: Beth Sertell, MSW, LISW-S MBA, CDCA Associate Director

    Anything else you might recommend to help us get on the same page?

    Best wishes, Kathy Jacobson, RN Broadwell Hill Community Health & Resilience Initiative

    PS. I used to meet weekly with Robert H. Daugherty, Ph.D. regarding public health social change efforts while he was at Ohio University.

  2. I would also like additional info about the “Family Resilience Perspective”, re: your statement “…Dynamics of Human Behavior class as the ‘Family Resilience Perspective’. This perspective seeks to identify and strengthen family processes which allow families to rebound from distressing life experiences. There are three dimensions of this particular framework: family belief systems, organizational patterns, and communication processes.

    We have been immersed in the realms of localized resilience building efforts for quite some time, including strategies that fall into the arena of micro/macrosociology. We have identified a definition of “resilience” with bottom up efforts – individual, family, neighborhood, watershed, township, county, region, national and global networking related to social, environmental and economic sustainability with robust systems of resilience. Resilience – “positive adaptation to perceived adversity”, also taking the classic emergency management definition further, i.e. it’s not just about bouncing back to what was prior to an acute disaster … it’s about bouncing forward within an adaptive process toward goals, a positive, goal oriented strategy.
    Reinforcing the positive <3
    I pulled up a webpage from the Social Work Policy Institute titled “Resiliency”:

    I am wondering if you could direct me to any on-line materials that overlap with your studies.

    Thank you!

    Kathy

    • Kathy,
      I first wanted to share with you an additional article that I have used in an essay for my Issues in Ecofeminism class:
      Alston (2013) Women and Adaptation (I am having trouble providing an exact link because I have viewed it through class)
      GENDER AS A FACTOR IN COPING, ADAPTATION, RESILIENCE, AND TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE (in response to climate change)
      “Building resilience is not only essential to adaptation,
      it is integral to gender equality and is defined by
      women’s empowerment in what are essentially critical
      and often life-threatening circumstances. Resilience,
      adaptation, gender equality, and the empowerment
      of women and girls are critical to achieving transformative
      adaptive change, change that requires
      governments and institutions to redefine and renegotiate
      social contracts, address the causes as well as
      the symptoms of vulnerability, and take actions to protect
      human rights, including the rights of women and
      girls” (Alston 2013).
      It is new to me to be learning about differences in building resilience according to gender and in response to climate change. One potential challenge I see in gender differences of vulnerability to disasters is lack of access and lack of resources. Thoughts, Kathy?
      I would like to start a fresh post for explaining further of the ‘family resilience perspective’.

  3. Reply to test subscriptions; to Kelly, Kathy, Admin, and Constantine.

    • Good Morning!
      I am still here; continuing my reading and considering the question posed by Kelly: “What current issues can you think of that affect a living organism’s right to a healthy life?”
      The Athens’ Own team put together a “Current Situation Analysis” awhile back that includes some of the current issues affecting life on this planet.
      Perhaps Constantine can provide a link to the Google docs material.
      I hope you are well Kelly, hope school is going well and that you are also able to enjoy this beautiful fall weather.
      Kathy

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