History, Memory and Practice of Social Work in Kosovo

This paper is grounded on the research on the history of social work in Kosovo. It focuses on memory and its renderings among the social workers past and present. The main questions the paper addresses and as stemming from the... [ view full abstract ]

This paper is grounded on the research on the history of social work in Kosovo. It focuses on memory and its renderings among the social workers past and present. The main questions the paper addresses and as stemming from the empirical evidence concern the practice, values, ethics, and every day practice of social workers through the dramatic shifts Kosovo has endured such in the last two decades such as the erosion of the social state, war, refugee and forced migration, post-war reconstruction under international tutelage, and independence. This paper is about telling stories. It is about how participants in the research talk, remember, and engage with the collective knowledge of the past, present and the future. The analytical frameworks are the historical constructions of social work practice which have been continuously re-worked in relationship to broader political and social situations and politics. The paper discusses the narratives of life experiences as part of larger social discussion of politics, society and culture.


Key words: Kosovo, history, memory, social work, oral history.