Critical perspectives on empowerment

Editors:
HUMPHRIES Beth, (ed.)
Publisher:
Venture Press
Publication year:
1996
Pagination:
148p.
Place of publication:
Birmingham

The issue of power has been treated (by feminists as well as others) in terms of a commodity which can be handed over from one person to another, or wrested from one group by another - possessed rather than exercised. Equally empowerment has been used in simplistic and reductionist ways which treat it as just a matter of will, either on the part of those who are disempowered, or on the part of those in a position to empower. People who do emancipatory research are as much at risk of depoliticizing their activities as others who use the concept of empowerment.  These include containment - where the demands of oppressed groups are incorporated or accommodated without a radical reordering of social structures. Related to this is a theme of collusion - where subordinate groups accept unequal terms and in turn obtain resources in competition with other oppressed groups. Moreover, a discourse of empowerment is located largely within existing socially powerful groups - it is not the oppositional agency of the poor and disenfranchized, but the enforcement of the concerns of hegemonic groups. Finally, a theme of empowering nihilism leads to the identity of the Other being appropriated by marginalized groups to form a clear, strong identity and sense of power. At the same time this identity is disrupted by a confirmation of the characteristics displayed by them as of the essence of their alien nature, therefore requiring containment.

Subject terms:
participatory research, self-advocacy, social work theories, empowerment, feminist theory;
Content type:
research
ISBN print:
1 873878 50 8

Key to icons

  • Free resource Free resource
  • Journal article Journal article
  • Book Book
  • Digital media Digital media
  • Journal Journal

Give us your feedback

Social Care Online continues to be developed in response to user feedback.

Contact us with your comments and for any problems using the website.

Sign up/login for more

Register/login to access resource links, advanced search and email alerts