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SAGE Journal User Guide

Article 1.

Healy, L. M. (2008). Exploring the history of social work as a human rights profession. International Social Work, 51(6), 735-748. doi:10.1177/0020872808095247

This article explores how social workers have been involved in the development of human rights frameworks and policies and argues for increased engagement with human rights perspectives in keeping with the stated mission of the profession.

Questions:

1. Provide a basic definition of human rights, and describe the three generations of rights outlined in the article. 
2. Describe how social work pioneers (such as Jane Addams and Bertha Reynolds) integrated human rights into the early years of social work. 
3. What does the author mean when suggesting that social workers have generally paid more attention to “human needs” rather than “human rights”? 
4. What are the greatest possibilities for integrating a human rights perspective into contemporary social work? 

Article 2. 

Hounmenou, C. (2012). Black settlement houses and oppositional consciousness. Journal of Black Studies, 43(6), 646-666. doi:10.1177/0021934712441203

This article examines how the context for African American settlement houses—specifically, the extent that they were autonomous from dominant society—shaped the nature of resistance by Black female leaders at the time and contributed to subsequent organizing and social movements.    

Questions:

1. What was the role of “oppositional consciousness” in the development and operation of Black Settlement Houses? 
2. What social and political conditions contributed to the growth of settlement houses led by African American women?  List three factors that led to the growth of these institutions.       
3. What does the author suggest about the effect of autonomy on the operation of Black settlements? Specifically, (a) define what is meant by autonomy in this context, and (b) explain how different levels of autonomy changed the settlement’s relationship to the community.   
4. What were the unique features of Black Settlement Houses as compared to their mainstream white counterparts?