About this book ...

Community psychology (CP), in our understanding, refers to research and action for social change that is focused on the prevention of human suffering, the reduction of oppression, and the promotion of individual, relational, and societal well-being. It concentrates on but is not limited to research and actions at the community level. Liberation psychology or applied social psychology are examples of labels that have been used to describe CP work elsewhere. 

Since this edited book will focus on the historical development of CP throughout the world, we envision each chapter capturing the nascent as well as established perspective of the field. Therefore, we asked each chapter to be co-authored by at least a senior and junior community psychologist. This will also prevent the introduction of an age bias into the story telling of the discipline.

To ensure consistency and comparability we asked that each chapter address the same underlying issues. To assist in this process we recommended considering the following questions: 

•      What are the informal historical roots of CP in the authors' country or region? That is, what historical developments have led to the foundation of CP? These roots can begin in the very distant (e.g. Greek dialectics) or more recent (e.g. World War II) past.
   

•      What are the theoretical roots of CP in authors' country or region? John Dewey’s work, for example, influenced the thinking of many U.S. scholars who were involved in the early development of CP while in Germany the Frankfurt School of thought inspired many early community psychologists.
   

•      Has CP been formally recognized in the authors' country or region? If so, when did this occur and what did the process of formalization look like? What were the catalysts? Do the authors' consider the formalization beneficial? If not, why did the field not become formalized? Do they think CP will eventually be formalized? Is there a benefit to not having a formalized field? 
   

•      Has CP, in the authors' country or region, been professionalized? Do they have a professional organization, clearly defined training/certification of community psychologists, and/or journals dedicated to CP research and theory?
   

•      What kinds of CP theories have been developed over time in the authors' country or region? For example, in the US sense of community and empowerment are mainstream CP theories. Are there any theories unique to your country or region? For example, the liberation psychology of Ignacio Martín-Baró has been especially influential in Latin America. What kinds of CP and CP-related theories have been influential to the development of the field in the authors' country or region?

Since a comparison of CP’s development internationally is lacking, we asked each group of authors to compare the development in their country or region to that of others. This website facilitates this process by giving the authors the opportunity to read the drafts of all the other contributors to this book (see Chapters). We hope that this will enable the reader and the greater field of CP to begin to develop an international perspective that sees the commonalities and uniqueness of CP throughout the world.

The book will be published in 2006 by Kluwer Academic Press, which now is part of Springer. We will inform you on this website when the book will be available.