Examining Ross’s Community Organisation through the Gramscian Lens

Abstract

Looking through the Gramscian notion of hegemony and counter-hegemony, this article examines some of the fundamental premises of community organisation upheld by Murray G. Ross and his book, Community Organization: Theory, Principles and Practice, which has been acclaimed by social work academia and practitioners ever since the first edition of book appeared in 1955. It has been almost six and a half decades since this book made its appearance; yet despite the temporal traverse, it has continued to enjoy the most exalted status ever accorded to a document in the realm of community organisation and community work in India. The authors contend that the ‘seemingly’ everlasting application of Ross’s text across diverse cultural contexts and vast temporal zones needs a revisit. Beyond attempting to locate the presence of hegemonic discourse in the community and within community work, the article also advocates for the engagement of social work practitioners in the crafting of counter-hegemony strategies, in order to empower the subaltern community of people to shape their lives, following their very own political choices.