6 University extension and the settlement idea
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Geoffrey A.C. Ginn
Abstract
This chapter focusses on two of the earliest settlement houses in the United Kingdom, Toynbee Hall and the Bermondsey Settlement. It examines the activities of the residents of these settlements and explores the contribution made by university extension, an effort to develop university teaching into a more democratic social force. to the inception and practical operations of them. Indeed, a close look at the activities of these settlements and the motivations of their founders and residents does indeed show that, alongside religious imperatives and paternalistic notions of class reconciliation through personal contact, the settlements embodied a progressive commitment to education that could be endorsed across class divide. As such, educational activities aimed to bring the knowledge of the universities to the working class neighbours living in the slums in which the settlement houses were established were a crucial element in their work.
Abstract
This chapter focusses on two of the earliest settlement houses in the United Kingdom, Toynbee Hall and the Bermondsey Settlement. It examines the activities of the residents of these settlements and explores the contribution made by university extension, an effort to develop university teaching into a more democratic social force. to the inception and practical operations of them. Indeed, a close look at the activities of these settlements and the motivations of their founders and residents does indeed show that, alongside religious imperatives and paternalistic notions of class reconciliation through personal contact, the settlements embodied a progressive commitment to education that could be endorsed across class divide. As such, educational activities aimed to bring the knowledge of the universities to the working class neighbours living in the slums in which the settlement houses were established were a crucial element in their work.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of boxes, figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xiv
- Introduction 1
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The transnational transfer of the settlement house idea
- A brief transnational history of the Settlement House Movement 15
- Berlin’s municipal socialism: a transatlantic muse for Mary Simkhovitch and New York City 35
- The French maisons sociales, Chicago’s Hull-House scheme and their influence in Portugal 51
- Settlement houses and the emergence of social work in Mandatory Palestine 73
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The interface between the Settlement House Movement and other social movements
- University extension and the settlement idea 91
- Between social mission and social reform: the Settlement House Movement in Germany, 1900–30 109
- To be an Englishman and a Jew: Basil Henriques and the Bernhard Baron Oxford and St George’s Settlement House 129
- The English settlements, the Poor Man’s Lawyer and social work, circa 1890–1939 145
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Research in settlement houses and its impact
- Putting knowledge into action: a social work perspective on settlement house research 163
- Animating objectivity: a Chicago settlement’s use of numeric and aesthetic knowledges to render its immigrant neighbours and neighbourhood knowable 181
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Final reflections
- ‘The soul of the community’: two practitioners reflect on history, place and community in two community-based practices from 1980 to 1995: St Hilda’s Community Centre in Bethnal Green and Waterloo Action Centre in Waterloo, South London 201
- Conclusion 221
- Index 231
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of boxes, figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xiv
- Introduction 1
-
The transnational transfer of the settlement house idea
- A brief transnational history of the Settlement House Movement 15
- Berlin’s municipal socialism: a transatlantic muse for Mary Simkhovitch and New York City 35
- The French maisons sociales, Chicago’s Hull-House scheme and their influence in Portugal 51
- Settlement houses and the emergence of social work in Mandatory Palestine 73
-
The interface between the Settlement House Movement and other social movements
- University extension and the settlement idea 91
- Between social mission and social reform: the Settlement House Movement in Germany, 1900–30 109
- To be an Englishman and a Jew: Basil Henriques and the Bernhard Baron Oxford and St George’s Settlement House 129
- The English settlements, the Poor Man’s Lawyer and social work, circa 1890–1939 145
-
Research in settlement houses and its impact
- Putting knowledge into action: a social work perspective on settlement house research 163
- Animating objectivity: a Chicago settlement’s use of numeric and aesthetic knowledges to render its immigrant neighbours and neighbourhood knowable 181
-
Final reflections
- ‘The soul of the community’: two practitioners reflect on history, place and community in two community-based practices from 1980 to 1995: St Hilda’s Community Centre in Bethnal Green and Waterloo Action Centre in Waterloo, South London 201
- Conclusion 221
- Index 231
