ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that late modern social work involves a greater requirement to understand the space and time dimensions to practice. This involves social work’s engagement with sociological theories about temporality and spatiality. The chapter discusses issues which are immediately relevant in the social sciences. It notes that there is a great deal of further research and scholarship that is yet to emerge in social work which examines literature from other areas such as the pure sciences and geography. The chapter examines contemporary social work as situated in late modern space and time. The application of sociological theories which relate to the current historical epoch help to frame social work as a profession. The chapter considers the degree to which individuals are able to exercise choice about space, and explores the agency versus structure debate. It also considers the limitations brought about by gender in better understanding the concept of choice in people’s contemporary world.
