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Soul, Community and Social Change

Theorising a Soul Perspective on Community Practice

Peter Westoby author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:30th Jun '20

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Soul, Community and Social Change cover

At a time when inequalities are growing globally, when the pace of socio-economic transitions is rapid, and when traditional ties of community are under threat of dissolving, 'soul' offers a new way of thinking imaginatively about how people might respond both individually and collectively in social change work. In exploring ideas such as soul, soulful, 'soul of the world' and soul-force, Peter Westoby invites readers to disrupt their taken-for-granted assumptions about community practice and to foreground ethics, quality, being and the aesthetic. Drawing on work of people such as James Hillman, Thomas Moore and 'Bifo' Beradi, he insists on the need to bring more depth into practice, eschewing contemporary trends of soulless analysis, measuring, and technique. Written in dialogue with eight practitioner-scholars from around the world, the book suggests a fresh terrain for community work and social change theorising. Illustrated by images of Australian cartoonist-prophet Michael Leunig, the book also promises to unlock new imaginative spaces for dreaming. A soul perspective will resonate with people searching for both a robust socio-political response to the world and an imaginative, poetic and mindful centring of self, 'other' and the planet to their practice.

’A watershed for community developers! This book probes beyond the usual rational social science frameworks to engage readers in dialogues about the unseen, the sacred, the symbolic and the spiritual that permeate the lifeworld. Readers will be challenged with some of the freshest perspectives about community development that have been raised in the past two decades.’ Ron Hustedde, University of Kentucky, USA

ISBN: 9780367597399

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 453g

224 pages