ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how being, knowing, and acting have been historically and theoretically situated in Western social science to advance the canon of settler colonialism. Premodern European societies had deep roots in the complex and multicultural ancient world, but the emergence of modern colonial European societies brought new ways of understanding subjectivity, knowledge, and practice. The context of how ideas and practices of social work historically emerged under conditions of settler colonialism and white supremacy are considered. This chapter lays the foundation for understanding decolonizing social work as a means of transforming the social work profession, so that it can divest itself of the oppressive ways of thinking and subsequent practices that have prevented social work from fulfilling its mission of enhancing well-being for all.
