30 Years of Social Change: read the foreword by Jessica Kingsley

Published to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 30 Years of Social Change gathers together over 30 leading thinkers from diverse disciplines – from autism specialists and social workers through to trans rights activists and complementary therapists – to provide a thoughtful account of how their field of expertise has changed over the past 30 years, and how they see it evolving in the future.

Here is Jessica Kingsley’s foreword to the collection:

“Thirty years is an arbitrary period – a bit more than a generation, a bit less than a working lifetime. This small book marks 30 years of publishing here at JKP, in and around the social and behavioural sciences, with the increasingly explicit goal of helping to create positive social change.

We thought it would be interesting to ask authors from across the areas we have published to write briefly about the changes – for better or worse – they have seen across their area of expertise, and what they might hope (or fear) for the future. And what they say is really interesting. Mostly, things are better;  with  increasing  understanding of conditions such as autism, discrimination and fear has reduced and the autism community (which barely existed 30 years ago) is now a thriving and dynamic source of information, friendship, and support. In social work, the last few years have seen increasing hardship and distress amongst society’s poorest, particularly in the UK, but the calibre of work with communities is just amazing in its creativity and understanding of the complex issues, while changes both in the education system and in the challenges facing young people, as well as much better understanding of the requirements of special education, have had a  major impact on the teaching profession. Singing Dragon authors have also seen enormous change, in attitudes to and knowledge about  acupuncture  and  Chinese  medicine and major developments in the science of aromatherapy, and of nutrition.

As publishers, we have been incredibly fortunate not just to feel that we are contributing to positive change with the books that we have published over those years, but also to work with so many interesting, energetic, and highly creative people, and to have made so many friends with shared values. We are so grateful to all the people who have published with us over the years, and most immediately to those of them who contributed their time to create this interesting book – thank you all!”

Read a selection of essays taken from the book:

30 Years in the Field of Adoption and Foster Care – Kim Golding

Dementia: Reflections, 1987-2017 – Dawn Brooker

How Our Understanding of and Approach to Autism Has Developed Over 30 Years – Tony Attwood

30 Years of Social Work and the Media – Martin Barrow

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