In her introduction to Professor Laura Burney Nissen’s new book Anticipatory Social Work, Kathleen Vian states plainly, just in case the reader isn’t sure: “The time for shits and giggles is over.” Vian should know: she’s the Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for the Future, and her opening words introduce Nissen’s work accurately.
As I write this, several pressure points weigh heavily on my mind—the “inevitability” of artificial intelligence, the fragility of American democracy, the dismantling of the right to one’s privacy. Just to name a few. As a part of the profession of social work, I am aware that we can’t wait until tomorrow for change.
And yet, how do we understand the nature of futures thinking? What could be possible? Take the ever-growing presence of generative AI. Is it actually true that AI will upend the world, or do we, as a society, have a choice? What makes Anticipatory Social Work so refreshing is how it regards these questions. To take meaningful action, we must first assess what we understand a problem or challenge to be. This is fundamental in social work, of course. Here, however, we are asked to consider deeply the nature of foresight, and how that informs how we see possible futures.
Nissen’s book is a culmination of the work of the Social Work Futures Lab, a collaboration of social work professors and practitioners who sought to “increase their impact using futures frameworks,” according to the lab’s website. It’s also, in a way, a remarkable capstone to Nissen’s remarkable, decades-long career in practice and education, including an extended tenure as Dean and faculty member at the Portland State University School of Social Work.
Anticipatory Social Work is an extensive consideration on the nature of foresight in social work. Where are we going as a society? What are we up against? The text considers the question of what roles the social work profession may have in the possible futures that lie ahead. This could mean a year ahead. It could mean 1,000 years. The book makes the case that the next millenia requires our consideration. This reflects both the hopeful perspectives it invites us to have, and the seriousness it applies to applying foresight.
As someone who enjoys science fiction, I felt my interests weaving and connecting in new ways. Good science fiction often encapsulates speculative fiction, particularly the world we may desire, or the future we could be facing should we look away from what’s coming. Nissen references the works of Octavia Butler and William Gibson. If you’ve read The Parable of the Sower or Neuromancer, you may find the fundamental processes here familiar.
This is not a book with a simple narrative, nor is it intended to be a tome with solutions, or self-improvement, or professional advancement. I’ve read too many books that purport to be about something timely and relevant, only to trudge through several hundred pages restating a single vague premise and a few case examples decorated with simplistic psuedo-intellectualism.
This book has no interest in wasting our time. Multiple theoretical frameworks and models are introduced and referenced throughout. Readers are invited to use imaginative thinking to consider the nature and future of structural violence, distributive justice, cultural identity and expression, just to name a few. The work here is rooted in the extensive research on the nature of futures research from various disciplines spanning decades. With deep research and thought, readers are provided a clearly-written perspective on the nature of social work foresight, and what outcomes could be.
Throughout, Nissen emphasizes that the future isn’t linear, nor is it merely one path. Multiple futures are possible, and not just for any particular category of path. As a social work faculty and practitioner, I find myself needing to continuously keep my mind open to the fuller, unquantifiable worldview that includes the profession.
For me, a clinical faculty member who has sought to first understand, then convey social work principles at all systems levels, this text is more than another title on the shelf. This book is alive.
Reviewed by Stephen Cummings, MSW, ACSW, LISW.
(Full disclosure from Stephen Cummings: Dr. Nissen invited me to read an early draft of this book. I am referenced in the acknowledgements. I have written this review independently.)