Critical Book Review: Case Critical by Ben Carniol
Ben Carniol’s book, Case Critical: Social Services and Justice in Canada, is an exploratory piece of literature that presents a detailed picture of Canada’s social welfare system, through the viewpoints of social workers and, more significantly, social service users. Carniol offers an examination of the challenges and barriers faced by structural social workers within social service organizations in Canada. The use of personal and external narratives throughout Carniol’s book allowed me to further develop my understanding of the failings and contradictions of our welfare state system. This, while simultaneously inspiring me to create change throughout my future career as a social worker and …show more content…
In his book, Carniol (2010) discusses cultural and ideological racism. In doing so, he gives the example of how the word “black” is often used with a negative connotation, while the word “white” is typically associated with being positive (p. 20). Although at first glance, this may not be a big deal to some people, it gave me a lot to consider. I think that Carniol’s example allowed me to further my knowledge on how racism can be so deeply woven into our society, that it can often go unnoticed. This realization justified the fact that many people do not recognize racism if it does not affect them. I believe that the lessons Carniol teaches about cultural consciousness and racism are beneficial for future social workers as they reinforce the importance of striving to understand the existence of privilege and oppression in our …show more content…
I feel as though he was able to teach me a lot of information that will inform my future social work practice. Carniol was very helpful in furthering my understanding of the structural social work approach. I specifically enjoyed his inclusion of personal experiences, narratives, and facts that helped to make everything come together. Carniol was also able to bring truth to many of the discussions I have experienced during my time as a social work student, which I greatly appreciated. In particular, the main topics that Carniol covered that I will carry with me throughout my social work career are the cultural barriers, the advocacy barriers, and the importance of self-reflection in social work practice. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to read Case Critical, and I will certainly keep it on my bookshelf for future social work
Ben Carniol’s book, Case Critical: Social Services and Justice in Canada, is an exploratory piece of literature that presents a detailed picture of Canada’s social welfare system, through the viewpoints of social workers and, more significantly, social service users. Carniol offers an examination of the challenges and barriers faced by structural social workers within social service organizations in Canada. The use of personal and external narratives throughout Carniol’s book allowed me to further develop my understanding of the failings and contradictions of our welfare state system. This, while simultaneously inspiring me to create change throughout my future career as a social worker and …show more content…
In his book, Carniol (2010) discusses cultural and ideological racism. In doing so, he gives the example of how the word “black” is often used with a negative connotation, while the word “white” is typically associated with being positive (p. 20). Although at first glance, this may not be a big deal to some people, it gave me a lot to consider. I think that Carniol’s example allowed me to further my knowledge on how racism can be so deeply woven into our society, that it can often go unnoticed. This realization justified the fact that many people do not recognize racism if it does not affect them. I believe that the lessons Carniol teaches about cultural consciousness and racism are beneficial for future social workers as they reinforce the importance of striving to understand the existence of privilege and oppression in our …show more content…
I feel as though he was able to teach me a lot of information that will inform my future social work practice. Carniol was very helpful in furthering my understanding of the structural social work approach. I specifically enjoyed his inclusion of personal experiences, narratives, and facts that helped to make everything come together. Carniol was also able to bring truth to many of the discussions I have experienced during my time as a social work student, which I greatly appreciated. In particular, the main topics that Carniol covered that I will carry with me throughout my social work career are the cultural barriers, the advocacy barriers, and the importance of self-reflection in social work practice. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to read Case Critical, and I will certainly keep it on my bookshelf for future social work