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Abstract
This study employs historical methods, specifically those of biography, to trace the contributions of Harry Lawrence Lurie to the development of social work during the 1930s and 1940s. Some attention is also given to important historical influences on Lurie prior to his rise to prominence in social work in the thirties and forties. In addition, his social work related endeavors after his retirement from fulltime social work in the early 1950's also receive some treatment.
The study concentrates on Lurie both as he influenced and as he was influenced by forces and events in the larger milieu during this controversial period. The study integrates his radical beliefs and activities related to social work practice and education with events and trends in the larger socio-political environment. It analyzes Lurie's roles in and involvement with the radical left wing--The Rank and File Movement--in social work. His respected position within the larger and more conservative mainstream of social work represented by such professional organizations as the National Conference of Social Work and the American Association of Social Workers is also chronicled. The study analyzes his unique position as bridge between the left and the right wings in social work and his ability to function effectively within both camps. It emphasizes the importance of his ability to synthesize rational, scientific methods and analyses with radical and decisive action based upon such analyses as the primary factor in his credibility with the two divergent contingents of social workers. This study also concentrates on Lurie's efforts to steer social workers toward an equitable balance between their dual responsibilities for social criticism/reform and individual adjustment/amelioration.
The study stresses the important influences of national and international forces upon Lurie, the mainstream and the left in social work during the period of concern. Specific attention is given to such larger environmental forces and events as immigration, Progressivism, Freud and psychoanalysis, the Great Depression, the New Deal, Communism, Nazism, Fascism, World War II, post-war prosperity and the Cold War.