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ABSTRACT
This article offers an original interpretation of Otherness and Foreignness concepts, based on the peculiarities and challenges of intercultural helping relationships. In the social work discourse, the concepts of ‘Otherness’ and ‘Foreignness’ are core, often mentioned in a non-relational way adopting legal and administrative logics that involuntarily reproduce one-sided dynamics and borders between insider and outsider, Self and Other, and helper and helpee. The initial conceptual point of the paper is the recognition that each helping relationship starts with a reciprocal state of foreignness in which nobody is a foreigner by definition. Instead, at the beginning, each is foreigner to the other. Otherness, mutual foreignness, and sharing are the defining factors of social work relationships. This theoretical contribution can inspire educators, practitioners, and researchers in stimulating insights, challenging unethical misconceptions, and revisiting personal and societal representations about people from migration background, overcoming barriers for social work practice and education purposes.
ABSTRACT
Nel quadro delle peculiarità e delle sfide tipiche delle relazioni interculturali di aiuto, l’articolo offre un’interpretazione originale dei concetti di ‘Alterità’ e ‘Stranierità’. Nei discorsi di Social work, i concetti di ‘Alterità’ e ‘Stranierità’ sono centrali, spesso menzionati con prospettive non relazionali basate su logiche giuridico-amministrative che involontariamente riproducono dinamiche unidirezionali e confini tra insider e outsider, Sé e Altro, aiutante e aiutato. Il punto concettuale di partenza è il riconoscimento che ogni relazione di aiuto inizia con uno stato di reciproca stranierità in cui nessuno è straniero per definizione. Piuttosto, all’inizio, ciascuno è straniero per l’altro. Alterità, mutua stranierità e condivisione sono i fattori che definiscono le relazioni di aiuto. Questo contributo teorico può ispirare docenti, assistenti sociali e ricercatori nello stimolare intuizioni, sfidare concezioni non etiche e rivisitare rappresentazioni personali e sociali sulle persone con background migratorio, per superare barriere e migliorare le pratiche di aiuto e la formazione.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1 In 2021, 2.3 million immigrants came to the EU from non-EU countries and 1.4 million people previously residing in one EU Member State migrated to another Member State. This makes a total of 3.7 million arrivals as a result of international immigration in 2021. On the other hand, about 1.1 million people emigrated from the EU to a country outside the EU and more than 1.2 million moved from an EU country to another EU country in 2021. In 2022, 1.92 million persons immigrated to the European Union and the 0.96 million persons emigrated from the EU (Eurostat, Citation2023).
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Notes on contributors
Elena Cabiati
Elena Cabiati is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy. She is coordinator of the bachelor and master programme in social work and in management of social services in which she teaches methodology of social work, social work ethics and principles, intercultural social work. She is a registered social worker with fieldwork experience in child protection. She is board member of ESWRA (European Social Work Research Association).