Note: Three credits over two years.
Note: One meeting last Monday of every month excluding December 2018 and April 2019. Where a holiday falls on the Monday, the class will be rescheduled for the following Tuesday evening or on another agreed upon date.
This seminar is a required course for students in each of the final two years of the J.D./M.S.W. combined degree program (in other words students are required to attend the seminar over a two year period) and open to students enrolled in the Faculty of Social Work who have completed a J.D. degree and to students enrolled in the Faculty of Law who have completed either a B.S.W. or M.S.W. degree. The seminar will meet once a month for two hours and as noted above, the 3 credits are earned after two years of participation and completion of the course requirements.
The primary purpose of the seminar is to explore the multiple intersections between law and social work. This exploration will be situated within a broader set of ideas and debates about "disciplines", "multi-disciplinarity" and "inter-disciplinarity". The manner in which theories, practices and interventions have been developed in relation to particular disciplines or professions will be explored, and the strengths and limitations of such approaches exposed in different substantive areas. So too, the potential for multi- or inter-disciplinary approaches will be explored in particular areas. The particular substantive topics to be pursued will vary from year to year, in part depending upon the field practical experiences of students enrolled in the course at any given time, but could include such issues as the intersections of law and social work in the areas of child protection, woman abuse, child custody, mental health, housing, etc.
The course will also examine the often divergent ethical norms governing the practices of law and social work and the implications of this for inter-disciplinary professionals.
