In the university system in the West, individualism is more or less taken for granted. That said, schools of social work are well positioned to press against this assumption and call attention to the community as the necessary counterpart to the individual.

At Columbia University, for instance, the School of Social Work offers graduate-level training not only for offering palliative services to individuals but also for leading advocacy campaigns and movements for social justice and human rights. In this Tony Tripodi lecture, Columbia University President Emeritus George E. Rupp will consider the profession of social service in all of its expressions, both domestically and internationally, as an interesting instance of the crosscurrents between our society’s emphasis on the individual and the need for taking collective action on behalf of, and responsibility for, the rights and freedoms of those who lack the power or ability to advocate for themselves.