Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687352
Priscilla D. Allen
A philosopher by raw definition means one who has a love of wisdom. Dr Brij Mohan has often been termed a social work philosopher, as he, indeed, is one who seeks knowledge with a passion while pondering the meaning of life, and its varied manifestation as reflected in his complex interpretations of social phenomena. Brij has a deep passion for the love of knowledge and the philosophy of science. His writing is poetic and provocative in terms of turning phrases on their head and contemplating the meaning from the inside out. He takes on injustice head-on and bravely faces a landscape that few have ventured. He is a journeyman, a philosopher, a father, a husband, and a prolific and profound force in the social work world whose work literally bridges the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. When I think about ‘‘Brij by himself’’, I think about all of the people he has influenced, the masses of students throughout his 35-year career, the international contacts that link continent to continent. I think about the paradox between a visible man and a prophetic and prolific writer and the solitude of someone whose mind never stops. I think of a man who takes each and every email as a vessel for further contemplation, who always responds to his friends with a personal greeting, and who remembers historical events with lessons for the present. I think of a man who loves Jean Paul Sartre and the existential reality, a man who has told me to endure, to hold on, and to remember that success is the best revenge. When one thinks of success, one is often reminded about resilience and the predilection to endure. Brij embodies these attributes. Part of Brij’s legacy is his predilection to counter internal and external politics and to endure and question power. Brij has outlived any other faculty at the School of Social Work by decades, has experienced more than eight deans at Louisiana State University (LSU) and has taught approximately one-half of all graduates since the beginning of his tenure. When I reflect on the topic ‘‘Brij by himself’’, I think of a man who has experienced challenges in a steadfast manner. I also think of his generosity. It is not often that someone shares so generously with so many, while putting himself out on a limb to protect his core values. Over the past nine years since I have worked with Brij, I have gained hundreds of insights into this man’s
简单地说，哲学家就是热爱智慧的人。莫汉博士经常被称为社会工作哲学家，因为他确实是一个充满激情地寻求知识的人，同时思考生命的意义，以及他对社会现象的复杂解释所反映的各种表现形式。Brij对知识和科学哲学有着深深的热爱。他的作品充满诗意和挑衅性，因为他会把短语颠倒过来，从里到外思考它的意义。他直面不公，勇敢地面对一个很少有人敢冒险的地方。他是一个熟手，一个哲学家，一个父亲，一个丈夫，在社会工作领域是一个多产而深刻的力量，他的工作实际上是20世纪末和21世纪的桥梁。当我想到“布里吉独自一人”时，我想到了他所影响的所有人，在他35年的职业生涯中，众多的学生，以及连接大陆与大陆的国际联系。我想到了一个可见的人与一个有预言和多产的作家之间的矛盾，以及一个思想从不停止的人的孤独。我认为他是这样一个人，他把每一封电子邮件都当作进一步思考的容器，他总是以个人的问候回应他的朋友，他记得历史事件并为现在提供教训。我想到了一个男人，他热爱让·保罗·萨特和存在主义的现实，他告诉我要忍耐，要坚持，要记住成功是最好的报复。当一个人想到成功时，他往往会想到坚韧和忍耐。Brij体现了这些属性。布里吉留下的遗产之一是他对内外政治的抵制，以及对权力的忍耐和质疑。布里吉比社会工作学院的任何其他教员都要长寿几十年，在路易斯安那州立大学(LSU)经历了8位院长，从他任期开始，他教过大约一半的毕业生。当我想到“Brij by myself”这个话题时，我想到的是一个以坚定的态度经历挑战的人。我也想到了他的慷慨。很少有人能如此慷慨地与这么多人分享，同时把自己置于危险境地，以保护自己的核心价值观。在过去的九年里，自从我和Brij一起工作以来，我对这个人的想法有了成百上千的了解
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687428
R. Kowalski
The phenomenology of development is presented as the way that development professionals explain the process of development as experienced by themselves and other stakeholders. This justification has itself changed and developed since President Truman coined the term, as theory and practice have proved inadequate. A brief history and explanation of this meta-development are attempted that focuses in on the paradoxical nature of the endeavour as an externally managed intervention. In particular, five paradoxes within development practice are identified as the core challenges to professional practice and congruence that we must address and resolve.
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687410
T. D. Watts
This article discusses some key philosophical influences on the thought of Brij Mohan: critical theory; postmodernism; existentialism; and other influences. All have contributed to the holistic, immense scope of his thought.
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687600
D. Hodge
As Mohan notes, social justice can potentially serve as a unifying theme in a new articulation of social work education characterized by inclusion and civil discourse. Yet, historically, social work has often operationalized social justice in a manner that engenders exclusion, rather than inclusion, raising concerns the profession will repeat such mistakes in the future. Building upon Mohan's extensive work in the areas of epistemic pluralism, social justice, and human rights, this article proposes three principles to help realize the promise embedded in the social justice framework while circumventing past problems. These three interrelated guidelines can be summarized as: an affirmation of epistemic pluralism; that creates space for bottom-up, client-centered conceptualizations of social justice; which in turn are congruent with fundamental human rights. Practical pedagogical strategies are provided to foster movement toward a new educational model characterized by inclusiveness and peaceful coexistence.
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687469
Nick Johns, Mark S. Hyde
Although Brij Mohan has an outstanding reputation as a scholar and advocate of global social justice, his distinctive contribution, spanning several fields, has been neglected by Western European social policy analysis (WESPA). This is surprising given that many of the themes that are expressed in his work are highly relevant to this tradition. This article teases out this relevance in two ways. First, it summarises what should arguably be regarded as the three foundational assumptions of WESPA, highlighting their congruence with some of the central themes of Mohan's work. Western European social policy scholars can expect to feel very comfortable with his normative standpoint, as well as his analysis of the dynamics of injustice. Second, we examine in greater depth Mohan's contribution regarding two specific issues, diversity and freedom. Our analysis suggests that Mohan's substantial and varied corpus should be accorded the recognition within WESPA that it so richly deserves.
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687378
S. Z. Hasan, Radha Kamal Mukerjee, Nathan C. Cohen
Thementor–protégé cycle is a perpetual trajectory of generational evolution.My three great mentors – Radha Kamal Mukerjee, Nathan C. Cohen and Eveline M. Burns – represented a tradition of scholarship, which one does not obtain in the current academic culture. Radha Kamal Mukerjee was an intellectual giant, institutionbuilder and a savant of immeasurable human depth; Nathan C. Cohen and Eveline M. Burns offered the same as pioneers in shaping the academic social welfare culture. While these three individuals vastly differed in temperamental and personal attributes, they all shared one common attribute: an uncompromising passion and indelible commitment to scholarship as the core of institutional leadership. It was my privilege to have been one of their protégés in the 1950s. They embodied the best that the three great institutions – Lucknow Unversity, the London School of Economics (LSE), and Columbia University – would offer to the world of social sciences. Brij Mohan, my first successful doctoral graduate and subsequently a colleague, embodies the continued quest of a classic professorial tradition, which seems to be fading away in the fog of new corporate culture. Someone, very important, informally said: ‘‘He may indeed be the last professor in the RKM tradition’’. I had come to the Columbia University School of Social Work, New York in 1954 on a United Nations Social Welfare Scholarship, and enrolled in the New York School of Social Work, Columbia University – later renamed the Columbia University School of Social Work – earning the degrees of Master of Sciences in Social Work (1955) and Doctor of Social Welfare (1958). On my return to my native alma mater, Lucknow University, under the leadership of Dr Radha Kamal Mukerjee, the father of Indian Sociology, social work was emerging as a new profession. Even though it had taken its roots in a few places – Bombay, Varanasi, and Delhi – nowhere in the world was doctoral education available in social work beyond the United States. Lucknow University initiated a PhD in social work in the late 1950s, and two MSW candidates (A.B. Bose and Hira Singh) obtained PhDs under the aegis of the J.K. Institute of Sociology and Human Relations at Lucknow University. Brij Mohan, who joined Lucknow University in 1960, obtained the first PhD degree in the Department of Social Work
遗传-原遗传循环是世代进化的永恒轨迹。我的三位伟大导师——拉达·卡迈勒·慕克吉、内森·c·科恩和伊芙琳·m·伯恩斯——代表了一种学术传统，这在当前的学术文化中是得不到的。拉达·卡迈勒·慕克吉是一位知识巨人、制度缔造者和具有不可估量的人文深度的学者;内森·科恩(Nathan C. Cohen)和伊芙琳·m·伯恩斯(evelyn M. Burns)在塑造学术社会福利文化方面做出了同样的贡献。虽然这三个人在气质和个人特质上有很大的不同，但他们都有一个共同的特点:对学术的不妥协的热情和不可磨灭的承诺，这是机构领导的核心。我很荣幸能在20世纪50年代成为他们中的一员。他们体现了勒克瑙大学(Lucknow University)、伦敦政治经济学院(LSE)和哥伦比亚大学(Columbia University)这三所伟大学府能为社会科学界提供的最好的东西。布里吉•莫汉(Brij Mohan)是我第一位成功毕业的博士，后来成为我的同事，他体现了对经典教授传统的持续追求，而这种传统似乎正在新企业文化的迷雾中逐渐消失。一位非常重要的人非正式地说:“他可能确实是RKM传统的最后一位教授。”1954年，我凭借联合国社会福利奖学金来到纽约哥伦比亚大学社会工作学院，并进入哥伦比亚大学纽约社会工作学院——后来更名为哥伦比亚大学社会工作学院——获得社会工作硕士学位(1955年)和社会福利博士学位(1958年)。当我回到我的母校勒克瑙大学，在印度社会学之父拉达·卡迈勒·慕克吉博士的领导下，社会工作正在成为一种新的职业。尽管它在孟买、瓦拉纳西和德里等几个地方扎下了根，但除了美国之外，世界上没有任何地方能提供社会工作方面的博士教育。勒克瑙大学在20世纪50年代末开设了社会工作博士学位，两名城市垃圾候选人(A.B. Bose和Hira Singh)在勒克瑙大学社会学和人类关系研究所的支持下获得了博士学位。莫汉(Brij Mohan)于1960年加入勒克瑙大学，获得了社会工作系的第一个博士学位
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687626
A. Mishra, V. Singh, S. Jain
In recent years there has been a lot of discussion on global warming and climate change and its implications for social development – an area that Mohan has devoted his life to. It is now accepted that climate change is real and its impacts will be felt across different sectors ranging from water resources to industries to social arenas. In coming years, people will be affected across the world even more irrespective of their contribution to the cause of global warming and climate change. The very fabric of our society and the goal of social work will be impacted just as well. Climate change is not just a scientific issue, it is just as much a social issue. This article briefly discusses global warming and climate change, their causes, effects on society, future projections and their effects on social development.
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687402
D. Gil
This article argues that in order to achieve global siblinghood for the human species, we have to transcend the tribal consciousness and corresponding rationality that emerged in early human societies but has continued to shape interactions among nations up to the present time. This consciousness has to be transformed into a global consciousness and corresponding objective rationality. Such a transformation seems essential to reversing the suicidal course of the species.
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687345
F. Raymond
As someone who has known Dr Brij Mohan for many years, through both professional and personal relationships, I am deeply gratified to be allowed to write an introduction to this special issue of Journal of Comparative Social Welfare that honors this man. I will not discuss the contents of the articles that follow, nor will I describe the immense body of work developed by Dr Mohan over the years. Rather, I will talk about the person I know and, it is hoped, demonstrate how Brij Mohan, the person, is reflected in his professional scholarship. Dr Mohan is a complex person and it would be impossible to describe him fully in a few paragraphs. Nonetheless, I will call attention to those characteristics of Dr Mohan that are most striking to me and, I believe, to others who know him. The first thing one notices about Dr Mohan, when meeting him, reading his works, or hearing him lecture, is his profound intellect. I know of few people in the field of social work and social work education whose intellectual capacities are comparable with his. He is able to conceptualize at a high level, quickly grasping the meaning of complex theoretical and philosophical issues. He is then able to apply these concepts to the subject at hand and thereby develop new and deeper understanding of the matters under consideration. His writings are not ‘‘easy reads’’, but require the average person, who may not be gifted with Dr Mohan’s level of intellectual ability, to devote considerable time, effort, and study in order to the comprehend his messages. The reader who makes such commitment is eventually rewarded with an ‘‘Aha! Moment’’ – the time when the message and meaning of Dr Mohan’s writings become evident. The reader feels newly enlightened as a result of gaining new insights and perspectives from Dr Mohan’s scholarship. Another striking characteristic of Dr Mohan is his vast knowledge. Not only does he know and understand the extensive body of information within the field of social work, but his knowledge base includes the broader field of social science – and beyond. In personal conversations he is able to dredge up quotes and references from material he read years earlier – in diverse areas such as literature, history, poetry, science, philosophy, economics, and mathematics – and to apply these to the topic being discussed. Furthermore, in his scholarship he draws upon this deep reservoir of knowledge to illustrate, clarify, explain, interpret, or shed new light on the subject matter being considered. Dr Mohan obviously reads profusely and his knowledge base is always current. In his scholarly work he regularly refers to contemporary politics, current social issues such as global warming or the economic crisis, recent scientific discoveries, and world affairs. Only a person who is extremely gifted intellectually could read so widely, understand such diverse subject matter, and successfully apply concepts from other areas of intellectual inquiry to provide new understand
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Pub Date : 2010-06-01DOI: 10.1080/17486831003687394
W. Epstein
A society engages in policy romanticism when it maintains a tenacious attachment to distorted assertions about reality that are institutionalized in both the public and private sectors. The invocation of community to commend a sublime subjectivity that pre-empts questioning is realized in the concept of social capital. Community and social capital are both romantic notions buttressing American public policies that maintain great inequalities and ignore the concrete needs of many citizens. In the United States, public policy reflects private attitudes. In this way, the inadequacies and ineffectiveness of many social welfare programs are intentional choices rather than distortions of the people's will. Democracy is not an inevitable prelude to decency.
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