This course takes as a starting point the contested concepts of culture, race, ethnicity, difference and diversity and considers the ways in which they are deployed in social work practice. It explores the key issues and debates surrounding questions of cultural difference and recognition in relation to contemporary Australian society and the ways in which social work has resisted or accommodated difference in practice.

Drawing on key concepts such as colonisation and coloniality, sovereignty and self-determination, equity and equality, the course critically examines the context for the achievement of recognition, the exercise of rights and the professional ambition to contribute to social justice. It examines the principles of culturally responsive practice, cross-cultural practice, human rights promotion within statutory contexts and decolonising methodologies of practice.