Liberatory Consciousness
at Rutgers School of Social Work
In Fall of 2022, Rutgers School of Social (SSW) began using Dr. Barbara Love’s liberatory consciousness framework (LCF), which addresses antiracism and oppression, to guide curriculum development, students’ work in their practicum, and the work of staff within the School.
Liberatory consciousness is an awareness of oppression and intentionality about changing systems of oppression (Love, 2010). The LCF consists of four elements: awareness, analysis, action, and accountability/allyship. Awareness requires that you recognize that we live in an oppressive society; analysis requires that you develop explanations about why oppression is happening; action requires you to take action to promote equity and justice; and accountability/allyship requires you to collaborate with others to address what is contributing to an oppressive society. The School adopted this framework as a result of a charge given to the IIDEA Committee by Dean Cathryn Potter. The charge was as follows:
In partnership with the Office of Academic Affairs, advance a conceptual/theoretical framework that undergirds the initiatives that further inclusion, intersectionality, diversity, equity, and advancement (IIDEA) for social justice for the School, and for agencies that partner with the School, in order to carry out the core mission of the SSW.
Faculty and staff strongly believe that the LCF will allow us to achieve this goal.
Please view our 4A's graphic here.
An Introduction to Liberatory Consciousness with Dr. Antoinette Y. Farmer
The Application of Liberatory to Student Learning
Conversation on Liberatory Consciousness with MSW Student
Conversation on Liberatory Consciousness with BASW Student
More on the Liberatory Consciousness Framework
Learn more about Dr. Love’s liberatory consciousness framework by reading the article below and viewing the liberatory consciousness videos above or on the School’s YouTube channel.
Current work related to Liberatory Consciousness
In February 2023, a Liberatory Consciousness Framework (LCF) writing group was established to produce scholarly writings on this framework. Presented below are outcomes of the writing group as well as efforts throughout SSW to further integrate the LCF. We invite you to return to this page regularly to see what is happening in the School related to the LCF and what articles the writing group has published.
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Hubbard, T. L. (February, 2023). Let’s talk about critical race theory, social work practice, and liberatory consciousness. Webinar. Rutgers School of Social Work in collaboration with NASW-NJ CEU Program.
Lamar, M., Farmer, A. Y., & Battle, D. (2022, November). Applying Dr. Barbara Love’s liberatory consciousness framework to field education. Webinar. Rutgers School of Social Work “Voices from the Field”.
Lamar, M. (2022, June). Beyond presence: Using the liberatory consciousness framework of Dr. Barbara Love to create Inclusive organizations. Paper presented at the 31st Network for Social Work Management (NSWM) Annual Management Conference, Virtual Conference
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Presentations at the CSWE Annual Program Meeting, held in Atlanta, GA from October 26th to October 29th, 2023
- Davis. R. "Global Field Education: Liberatory and Reciprocal."
- Goldblatt Hyatt, E., & McCoyd, J. "Teaching Reproductive Justice through a Liberatory Consciousness Framework."
- Haggerty, Z. & Goldblatt Hyatt, E. "Social Work Mentoring through Liberatory Consciousness."
- Hubbard, T.L. (2023). "Preparation and Reflections: Teaching about Race, Racism, and Anti-Racism through a Liberatory Consciousness Lens"
The Joint Conference on Social Work and Social Development held in Panama City, Panama from April 4th to April 7th, 2024.
- Farmer, A.Y., Love, B. J., Duron, J., Battle, D., and Lamar, M. "Implementing Dr. Barbara Love’s liberatory consciousness framework in a school of social work."
Presentations that will be at the CSWE Annual Program Meeting, which will be held in Kansas, MO from October 24-October 27, 2024.
- Okuda, K. and Lamar, M. (2024). Allyship in Action: Navigating Practicum Impasses Using the Liberatory Consciousness Framework.
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Students enrolled in the Diversity & Oppression, Clinicial Social Work I, and Management & Policy courses in the MSW program are given assignments to apply the Liberatory Consciousness Framework (LCF) and are assessed on their attainment of a competence related to the LCF.
Students enrolled in the Diversity & Oppression and Confronting Anti-Black Racism courses in the BASW program are given assignments to apply the Liberatory Consciousness Framework (LCF) and are assessed on their attainment of a competence related to the LCF.
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Goldblatt Hyatt, E. & Sawyerr, T. (2024).“Liberating Grief”: Applying an Anti-Oppressive Framework to the Field. Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education, and Research, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/28376811.2024.2430571.
Resources
The following are links to resources on the Liberatory Consciousness Framework. Click through to learn more!
