Between Women: Gender and Social Work in Historical Perspective

This article discusses a growing body of knowledge concerning the intersections of women’s history and gender history in American social work and related social reform movements. The authors explore current themes and conceptual frameworks that characterize this new scholarship, including professionalism, maternalism, and race relations. They also discuss how this literature challenges traditional interpretations of social work history, suggest that this scholarship should be more fully integrated into the social work knowledge base, and recommend promising directions for historical inquiry in the social work field.