The Bitter Cry: resource for a genealogy of the professional identity of the pioneers of Social Work in England and United States

Abstract

In reviewing the process of institutionalization of social work in England and United States during the first third of the twentieth century, arise some stereotypical and biased issues of professional identity of social workers which are still present today. To account for the genesis of the profession, rather than appeal to the deus ex machina of proper names, in this article we try to objectify, under the frame of the social and intellectual history, the conditions that contributed to its formation. Historical criticism allows bringing light to the contributions of a large group of pioneering women, as the circle of Toynbee Hall, who replaced the case work for the social work from the new social science. These women addressed social issues, created new observation techniques, and pledged in favor of social reform. In today’s uncertain times, the generous social and political commitment of the first social workers turns out to be especially exemplary.