The worlds of social work writing

One way in which academic and professional journals embody the identity of their field is through acting as a disciplinary marker of location. In this article we explore how a leading social work journal in the UK locates the discipline of social work, both internationally and in relation to the various professional, policy and academic ‘worlds’ it inhabits. We draw on data from a multiple method historical case study to illustrate the journal’s geographical reach, particularly in relation to how aspirations to be ‘international’ were expressed, and what that might be intended to convey. We combine this understanding with a ‘national’ view of the journal within the different interests and constituencies it represents. We conclude by considering what this dual analysis of the journal’s position in its wider world(s) means for questions of plurality and coherence within the social work field.