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SE VE NTH EDITION
EMPOWERMENT SERIES
Karen K. Kirst-Ashman
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
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Generalist Practice with Organizations and © 2018, 2015 Cengage Learning
Communities, Seventh Edition
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright
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To Linda Kirst and Jim Spielman, the best relatives anyone could ask for
To my grandchildren, Patrick, Tatiana, Gregory, Ilsa, Marcus, Michael, Savannah, and Jonah
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Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Brief Contents
Preface xvii
12 Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas in Practice with Organizations and Communities 454
References 567
Name Index 581
Subject Index 587
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Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
Contents
vii
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viii CONTENTS
LO 2-4 The Relationship Between Poor Time LO 3-3 Interviewing and Communicating Effectively
Management and Stress 56 in Macro Contexts 84
How Poor Time Management Causes Stress 56 Simple Encouragement 84
Styles of Dealing with Time 57 Sensitivity to Cultural Differences 84
Paraphrasing 84
LO 2-5 Use Time-Management Techniques to Improve Reflective Responding 85
Practice Effectiveness 58 Clarification 85
Planning Your Time 58 Interpretation 85
Get Control of Your Own Behavior 62 Providing Information 85
LO 2-6 Utilize Mechanisms for Eliminating Emphasizing People’s Strengths 86
Procrastination 67 Summarization 86
Reasons for Procrastination 67 Eliciting Information 86
The Cons of Procrastination 68 The Use of “Why?” 87
Battling Procrastination 68 Overlap of techniques 87
Chapter Summary 96
Introduction 73
Competency Notes 97
LO 3-1 Using Empathy and Other Interpersonal Skills
to Work Effectively Within Larger Systems 73 HIGHLIGHTS
3.1 Practicing Empathic Responses
A Review of Basic Micro Skills 74 in Macro-Practice Contexts 81
Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior 74 3.2 Nonverbal Behavior, Communication, Empowerment,
Eye Contact 75 and People Who Have Physical Disabilities 83
3.3 Each of Us Has Certain Assertive Rights 90
Attentive Listening 75
3.4 What Would You Do? 95
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CONTENTS ix
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x CONTENTS
CHAPTER 5 Understanding Organizations 143 LO 5-6 Social Work Values and Organizational Values 184
How to Survive in a Bureaucracy 185
Introduction 144
Management and Worker Empowerment 187
Defining Organizations, Social Services, Constructing a Culture Of Caring 187
and Social Agencies 144 The Learning Organization 187
Organizations 144 Teamwork and Team Empowerment 188
Social Services 145 Managing Diversity 190
Social Agencies 145
Comparing Specific Management Approaches 190
LO 5-1 The Macro Context of Organizations 146 Total Quality Management 190
The Shifting Macro Environment and Shrinking
Resources 146 LO 5-7 Empower Macro Client Systems to Improve
Legitimation 149 Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice 195
LO 5-2 Client Sources 153 Servant Leadership 196
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CONTENTS xi
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xii CONTENTS
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CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER 9 Macro Practice in Communities 340 CHAPTER 10 Evaluating Macro Practice 378
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xiv CONTENTS
LO 10-4 Problems and Barriers in Program Evaluation 386 CHAPTER 11 Advocacy and Social Action with
Failure to Plan for Evaluation 386 Populations at Risk 412
Lack of Program Stability 386
Relationships Between Evaluators Introduction 414
and Practitioners 387 LO 11-1 Key Concepts Involved with Macro Practice 414
Evaluation Results are Unclear 387 Advocacy 414
Evaluation Results are Not Accepted 388 Social Action 416
When Evaluation is Not Worth the Effort 388 Empowerment 416
LO 10-5 Models of Evaluation 389 Populations at Risk 417
Formative (or Monitoring) Evaluations 389 LO 11-2 Risk Factors for Social, Economic,
Summative (or Impact) Evaluations 389 and Environmental Injustice 418
Effectiveness and Efficiency Evaluations 390 Factors Contributing to Putting Populations at Risk 418
Evaluation Approaches 390 Examples of Populations at Risk 419
Quantitative Methods 391 LO 11-3 Advocacy, Social Action, and Empowerment
Qualitative Methods 391 Activities 422
One-Group Posttest Designs 391
Pretest/Posttest Designs 391 Advocacy 423
Client Satisfaction Surveys 392 The Values and Limitations of Advocacy 423
Goal Attainment Scaling 392 Agency Commitment to Advocacy 424
Target Problem Scaling 393 Opportunities for Macro-Level Advocacy 425
Case Studies 394 Principles of Macro-Level Advocacy 426
Group Comparisons 394 Guidelines for Macro-Level Advocacy 427
Quality Assurance Reviews 395 Advocacy Tactics 428
Summary of Evaluation Designs 395 Grassroots and Grasstop Advocacy
LO 10-6 Stages and Steps in Evaluation 395 and Organizing 431
Stage 1: Conceptualization and Goal Setting 395 Locating Grasstop Supporters 433
Stage 2: Measurement 398 Identity the Help You Need 433
Stage 3: Sampling 398 Recruitment Strategies 433
Stage 4: Design 399 LO 11-4 The Use, Value, and Limitations of Advocacy 434
Stage 5: Data Gathering 401
Stage 6: Data Analysis 404 LO 11-5 Theoretical and Conceptual Models of Social
Stage 7: Data Presentation 404 Action 434
Alinsky’s Social Action Approach 434
LO 10-7 Communicate Evaluation Data 405
Part 1: Introduction 405 LO 11-6 Critique Macro Practice Using Professional
Part 2: Literature Review 405 Knowledge, Skills, and Values 436
Part 3: Methodology 405 Legal Action 437
Part 4: Results 405 LO 11-7 Participatory Action Research: Practice Informs
Part 5: Discussion 406 Research, and Research Informs Practice 439
Part 6: References and Appendices 407 Social Worker Roles in PAR 439
Summary of Data Presentation 407 Empowerment 440
LO 10-8 Uphold Ethics and Values in Evaluation 407 Recognizing Strengths 440
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CONTENTS xv
CHAPTER 12 Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas in Practice LO 12-6 Ambiguity Affects Ethical Decision Making 489
with Organizations and Conforming to Agency Policy 491
Communities 454 Breaching Confidentiality in a Macro Context 493
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xvi CONTENTS
Plan Your Supervisory Agenda Ahead of Time 507 Understanding the Software 525
Put Yourself in Your Supervisor’s Shoes 507 Agency Software Usage 527
Display Openness to Learning and to Improving General Observations About Computers 532
Yourself 507 Other Macro Uses of Technology 532
Demonstrate a Liking for Your Work 508
LO 14-4 Fund-raising 533
Follow the Rules 508
Sources of Funds 534
Think Beyond Tomorrow 508
Work Cooperatively with Other Staff 508 LO 14-5 Differentiating Grants from Contracts 540
Do More Than Expected 508 Grants and Contracts: Who’s Got the Money? 541
Give Your Supervisor Feedback 509 Government Grants 542
Forewarn Your Supervisor Foundation Grants 543
About Problematic Situations 509 Business and Corporate Grants 544
Learn Your Supervisor’s Evaluation System 509
LO 14-6 Key Steps in Securing Grants 545
LO 13-3 Manage Potential Problems in Supervision 510 Pre-Application Phase 545
Supervisor-Supervisee Misunderstandings 514 Application Phase 545
Supervisors Who Take Credit Writing a Grant Proposal 546
for Your Achievements 514 Kinds of Grants and Contract Proposals 549
Supervisory Incompetence 514 Post-Application Phase 563
Laziness 515
Chapter Summary 564
Problems with Delegation 515
Inability to Deal with Conflict 515 Competency Notes 565
A Final Note 515 HIGHLIGHTS
14.1 The Media’s Influence 521
Chapter Summary 515 14.2 Example of a News Release 523
14.3 Example of a Newspaper Editorial 524
Competency Notes 516 14.4 Management Information Systems 528
HIGHLIGHTS 14.5 Fund-raising 534
14.6 My First Grant—A First Person Account 543
13.1 Workers’ General Expectations of Supervisors:
14.7 Critical Topics Regarding Grant Applications 546
Keys to Empowerment 503
14.8 Example of a Cover Page 550
13.2 Games Supervisors and Supervisees
14.9 Example of a Summary or Abstract 550
Sometimes Play 510
14.10 Example of a Grant Application Problem
13.3 What Would You Do? 512
Statement 552
CHAPTER 14 Developing and Managing Agency 14.11 Examples of Goals and Objectives 554
Resources 517 14.12 Example of a Description of the Method 554
14.13 Example of an Evaluation Section 557
14.14 Example of a Bibliography 558
Introduction 519
14.15 Example of a Line-Item Budget 558
LO 14-1 Working with the Media to Advance Social 14.16 Example of a Functional or Program Budget from
a Peer Counselor and Drug Education Program 559
Well-Being and Social, Economic, and Environmental
14.17 Example of Allocating Time and Space Costs 560
Justice 519 14.18 Example of a Budget Narrative 561
The Nature and Role of Social Media 520
General Guidelines for Working with the Media 521 References 567
LO 14-2 Utilize Professional Communication Strategies Name Index 581
with the Media 523 Subject Index 587
Media Interviews 523
Letters to the Editor and Editorials 524
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Preface
This book is a guide to generalist social work practice address significant issues relevant to this practice.
with organizations and communities. The three adjec- Skills include working with the media, using new tech-
tives that best describe this text are relevant, practical, nological advances, fund-raising, grant writing, evalu-
and readable. Generalist practice is clearly defined, ating macro-practice effectiveness, resolving ethical
and specific macro-practice skills are presented in a dilemmas in macro contexts, and advocating for
straightforward and interesting manner. Applications diverse populations at risk.
to actual macro-practice situations are emphasized The fifth basic goal is to present material that is
throughout, as is the importance of client system not only relevant and interesting but also inclusive of
strengths. The content is geared to both the under- major concepts currently considered critically important
graduate and graduate generalist practice sequences. by the social work profession and social work educators.
This text aims to fulfill five major goals. First, it New material and concepts from the current accredita-
provides a readable and practical guide to working in tion standards have been included. (Please see the subse-
and with organizations and communities (macro prac- quent section on new content.) Enhanced emphasis is
tice). Numerous real-world situations and case exam- placed on critical thinking, empowerment and resilien-
ples are presented to make the material interesting and cy, and the global context of social work practice. The
relevant. Organizational and community theories are text adopts a generalist perspective, emphasizes evalu-
examined and linked to practice applications. ation of practice and research-informed practice, fo-
Second, the text proposes a generalist perspective cuses on the use of various communication skills with
to emphasize how micro, mezzo, and macro skills are colleagues and community members, demonstrates the
interlinked. This generalist approach assumes that appropriate use of supervision, and examines practi-
group (mezzo) skills are built on a firm foundation tioner functioning within organizational structures
of individual (micro) skills. Likewise, skills involved and communities.
in working with organizations and communities
(i.e., macro skills) rest on a solid base of both micro
and mezzo skills. This text links the three levels of About the Cover
practice—micro, mezzo, and macro—so that students Generalist Practice with Organizations and Commu-
can clearly see how all three skill levels are used in nities is focused on the need to work with and cre-
everyday practice situations. Whole chapters and nu- ate change within larger systems. Often this process
merous examples throughout illustrate how micro and involves working with others to achieve difficult and
mezzo skills can be applied to macro-practice situ- intractable goals. From citizen protests and dem-
ations. The text also aims to structure how students onstrations in the Middle East (i.e., Arab Spring) to
think about clients and clients’ problems so that, as similar efforts in the United States (e.g., Occupy Wall
practitioners, they will automatically explore alterna- Street, Black Lives Matter), individuals and groups are
tives beyond the individual and small-group levels. demanding changes in their environments, including
The text’s third basic goal is to provide clearly de- both government and business policies. Achieving and
fined, step-by-step frameworks for thinking about and maintaining positive outcomes in any system requires
initiating macro change in organizations and commu- continuous effort, and any gains must be guarded
nities. A model to decide whether to pursue macro in- and protected. Rights won must be defended against
tervention is proposed. Additionally, a procedure for groups and organizations seeking their repeal. This is
pursuing the macro-intervention process is described. part of your obligation as a social worker committed
The text’s fourth goal is to identify, explain, and to the pursuit of social, economic, and environmental
examine specific skills useful in macro practice and justice.
xvii
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xviii PREFACE
Chapter 7
1. Please note that this content addresses standards posed in the
EPAS. In no way does it claim to verify compliance with standards.
● Updated chapter title to more accurately capture
Only the CSWE’s Commission on Accreditation can make those intent
determinations. ● Reduced redundancy
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PREFACE xix
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xx PREFACE
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
1 Introduction to Generalist
Practice with Organizations
and Communities
© Anton Oparin/Shutterstock.com
Learning Objectives (LOs)
This chapter will help prepare students to:
LO 1-1 Describe generalist practice using the LO 1-6 Engage human diversity.
Generalist Intervention Model.
LO 1-7 Advocate for human rights and social,
LO 1-2 Recognize sources that guide professional economic, and environmental justice.
values and ethics in practice.
LO 1-8 Work effectively within an organizational
LO 1-3 Demonstrate awareness of personal values. structure.
LO 1-4 Describe the wide range of practice skills LO 1-9 Attend to a wide range of professional
used to target systems of any size. social work roles.
LO 1-5 Differentiate client empowerment, strengths, LO 1-10 Use critical thinking skills.
and resiliency.
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2 Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities
Rudolph will gRaduate in a week and has already accepted a position in an agency
that provides family counseling, foster care, and adoption services. having done his field
placement in the agency, he feels more comfortable about transitioning to this new position.
however, as he begins to pack up his books, he comes across a book from one of the last
practice courses he completed. the book focused on generalist practice with organizations
and communities using a generalist approach. looking at the title and thinking about his
new position brings up several questions:
these are logical questions for social work students to consider. after all, most students enter
the social work field with a desire to help people and focus their attention on learning how
to work with individuals and families. in this chapter, we will try to answer these questions
and provide information that is essential for generalist practitioners with a specific focus on
working within larger systems.
1. Most of these concepts are taken directly from the Educational is intended to assist in a social work program’s accreditation
Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) developed by the Coun- process.) Throughout the chapter, icons such as that located in this
cil on Social Work Education (CSWE) (CSWE, 2015). One major paragraph call attention to the location of EPAS-related content.
goal of social work education is to facilitate students’ attainment Each identifies what competency or practice behavior is relevant
of the EPAS-designated 10 core competencies and their 41 related by specifying the designated Educational Policy (EP) reference
component behaviors so that students develop into competent number. “Competency Notes” are provided at the end of each
practitioners. Students require knowledge in order to develop chapter that relate EPAS competencies and component behaviors
skills and become competent. Our intent here is to specify what to content in the chapter. A summary chart of the icons’ locations
chapter content and knowledge coincides with the development of in all chapters and their respective competencies or component
specific competencies and component behaviors. (This ultimately behaviors appears in the inside cover of the book.
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CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities 3
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4 Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities
Step 1 Engagement
Step 2 Assessment
change process, familiarize clients with the agency and and help. With this call, you have engaged Mr. Earl
supply them with information, solicit necessary data in the problem-defining process. Engagement is the
to assist in service provision, provide short-term coun- initial period when a practitioner becomes oriented to
seling when needed, and make appropriate referrals to the problem at hand and begins to establish commu-
agency units and other community resources. nication and a relationship with any other individu-
You receive a referral involving an older adult, als addressing the problem. Subsequently, you figure
Murray Strewynskowski. The person making the initial out what to do about Mr. Strewynskowski. You must
referral, Duke Earl, is one of Mr. Strewynskowski’s con- also engage him as the client in the planned change
cerned neighbors. Mr. Earl expresses concern because process. Of course, as a generalist practitioner, you
Mr. Strewynskowski has twice fallen down on his icy must work with the client to establish what he needs
sidewalk and been unable to get back up and into the and wants.
house. Both times, Mr. Earl happened to notice the fall During the assessment phase, you may decide to
and was able to assist Mr. Strewynskowski into the house. pursue planning and implementation at the micro,
While inside, Mr. Earl noticed extremely chaotic condi- mezzo, or macro level. You might also decide that
tions: Rotting garbage was strewn about the kitchen, and intervention at more than one level is appropriate.
about a dozen cats leisurely wandered around. Mr. Earl
noticed that a black cat with a white patch over the left Example: A Micro Approach
eye was eating what seemed to be canned creamed corn A micro-level plan might be to refer Mr. Strewynskowski
mixed with ketchup from a plate on the table that looked to the appropriate services and oversee service provi-
as if it might have been Mr. Strewynskowski’s lunch. sion. You might then continue Mr. Strewynskowski’s
Mr. Earl also expresses concerns about Mr. Strewyn- assessment and arrange for additional services such as
skowski’s diet in a general sense and wonders whether a traveling homemaker and daily hot meal delivery. You
Mr. Strewynskowski is able to shop or cook adequately might also arrange for supportive services as needed,
because he looks unhealthily thin. such as assisting Mr. Strewynskowski with paying his
Initially, you call Mr. Earl to clarify any ques- bills, obtaining medical assistance, or making arrange-
tions you might have and to thank him for his interest ments to get groceries and other needed items.
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CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities 5
Example: A Mezzo Approach the possibility of funneling funds and resources away
Assuming another perspective, however, you might from other, less critical areas to these older adult cli-
choose to focus on a mezzo- or group-/family-oriented ents who are in what you consider grave need. Sup-
approach. Suppose there are no services for traveling pose services and resources are already available in the
homemakers or hot meal delivery in Mr. Strewyns- agency but are accessible only to other client popula-
kowski’s immediate area. Perhaps the county in which tions (e.g., people who have specific types of physical
you work is neither very populated nor very wealthy. or developmental disabilities). It may be that an agency
In fact, suppose that the county is downright poor. policy change could extend eligibility for resources to
Without all the services and resources you would like the older adult population. Perhaps a community orga-
to have, what would you do? nization might be willing to sponsor some type of help
For one thing, you might decide to research whether for people like Mr. Strewynskowski. Pursuing changes
Mr. Strewynskowski’s family could provide help and in agency service provision, policy, or distribution of
support. Upon further investigation, you find out that resources are what macro practice—and this book—
Mr. Strewynskowski has two sons and a daughter liv- are all about. Change may have to occur in policies at
ing in the county. You decide to explore the extent to the local, state, or national level, and a social worker
which they are aware of their father’s situation and can can be involved in one or more of these efforts.
provide some of the help he needs. This would involve (Note that “EP” icons illustrated in
engaging his relatives in the helping process. Addition- this paragraph are located throughout
ally, you decide to look into whether Mr. Strewyn- the book. The Council on Social Work
skowski has any friends or neighbors who might be Education (CSWE, 2015), the national
accrediting organization for bachelor’s EP
willing to help him. You already know that Mr. Earl is
concerned about Mr. Strewynskowski’s well-being. and master’s social work programs,
Using a mezzo perspective therefore involves peo- specifies the areas where social workers must demon-
ple and family who are close to Mr. Strewynskowski. strate competency. A competency is the proven ability
You might also pursue the mezzo approach of get- to demonstrate sufficient knowledge, skills, and val-
ting Mr. Strewynskowski into some type of social or ues in a designated area in order to practice effective
support group to minimize his isolation. This might social work. Component behaviors, as conceptual-
include involving him in a local senior center. Perhaps ized by CSWE, are actions that students complete to
Mr. Strewynskowski belongs to a church that could demonstrate the overarching competency. In research
serve some of his needs, such as having volunteers take terms, each competency is operationalized by a series
him shopping or involving him in both religious and of specified component behaviors. Accredited social
social activities. work programs must show that they are teaching
students to be proficient in these competencies and
related behaviors. These competencies and compo-
Example: A Macro Approach nent behaviors are listed inside the front cover of the
Finally, in addition to thinking purely in micro or mezzo book. The occurrence of an icon with a numerical ref-
terms, you might decide to pursue a macro approach. erence means that the corresponding content in the
Once again, suppose there are no services that offer paragraph relates directly to the referenced compe-
traveling homemakers, meal delivery, older adult pro- tency or component behavior. “Competency Notes”
tection, or supportive workers in your area. Perhaps you listed at the end of the chapter further clarify these
discover that you and your colleagues have a number of relationships. The intent is to help faculty and social
older adult clients who are struggling to maintain them- work programs in the accreditation process.)
selves in their own homes. You find that, on a regular Earlier, we defined generalist practice as the
basis, you and other practitioners are having difficulty application of an eclectic knowledge base, professional
helping such clients because this issue extends beyond values and ethics, and a wide range of skills to target
the simple provision of help to an individual client. systems of any size for change within the context of
You determine that services are needed at a larger three primary principles, a practice context, and four
system level. Perhaps your county agency should major processes.
develop a new program to serve these clients. Maybe The three primary principles characterizing gen-
you should approach agency administrators to explore eralist practice all involve values. The first of these
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6 Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities
principles entails an emphasis on client empowerment, and is critical to the formation of identity” (emphasis
strengths, and resiliency. Empowerment is “the process added). The third principle accentuated in generalist
of increasing personal, interpersonal, or political power practice concerns advocacy for human rights and the pur-
so that individuals can take action to improve their suit of social, economic, and environmental justice. Sub-
life situations” (Gutierrez, 2001, p. 210). It involves sequent sections discuss these concepts in greater detail.
ensuring that others have the right power, ability, and Social workers are usually employed by an orga-
authority to achieve self-determination (each individu- nization and practice within the context of an orga-
al’s right to make his or her own decisions). Strengths nizational structure. Within this context, they engage
include any “capacities, resources, and assets” that can in four processes that characterize generalist practice.
be accessed to increase empowerment (Saleebey, 2009, First, generalist practice requires the assumption of
p. 99). Resiliency (discussed further in Highlight 1.4) a wide range of professional roles. Second, it requires
is the ability of any system to withstand and recover the application of critical thinking skills throughout
from adversity and resume functioning even when suf- their efforts to help. Third, generalist practice incorpo-
fering serious trouble, confusion, or hardship (Glicken, rates research-informed practice to determine the most
2006). Evidence suggests that most people have some effective ways to help people and serve clients. Fourth,
degree of resilience that helps them cope with a variety practitioners follow a seven-step planned change
of crises (Rutter, 2008). While they experience typical process as they engage in their practice.
bouts of sadness, pain, or discomfort, these individuals This chapter will address the 12 key dimensions
continue to function and bounce back from the trauma inherent in that definition. The order in which they
(American Psychological Association, 2016). are presented does not imply that one dimension is
The second principle emphasized in generalist prac- more important than another. Each is significant.
tice is the importance of “understanding how [human] Highlight 1.1 summarizes these concepts in outline
diversity characterizes and shapes the human experience form. Subsequent discussion of each is introduced
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CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities 7
with the headings numbered 1 through 12. The intent will work in this environment with all its constraints,
here is to present a definition of generalist practice requirements, and rules. Thus, Figure 1.3 pictures you,
that you can remember. the generalist practitioner, as a rectangle within this
Figure 1.3 demonstrates how the various con- large square. In that same square, you see the terms
cepts introduced thus far fit together. The large square Knowledge, Values, and Skills. These illustrate that
labeled Organizational Structure represents the orga- you bring to your job a broad knowledge base, profes-
nization (or agency) that employs you to engage in sional values, and a wide range of skills.
social work practice. Organizational structure involves The concentric circles at the bottom of Figure 1.3
the operation of lines of authority and communica- illustrate your potential target systems. As we have estab-
tion within an agency, how the administration runs lished, generalist practitioners may choose to work with
the organization, and what the agency environment is a micro, mezzo, or macro system as the target of their
like (Chapter 5, “Understanding Organizations,” dis- change efforts. These three systems are positioned in
cusses this in detail). As a generalist practitioner, you concentric circles according to their respective sizes.
An arrow flows from the Organizational Structure
square down to the Target System circles. This indi-
cates that you will apply your knowledge, skills, and
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE values to help change systems of various sizes.
Other arrows point from concepts on the right
You
as generalist and left to the central “application” arrow. This means
practitioner that generalist practitioners apply the concepts the
arrows represent as they undertake generalist practice.
1. Knowledge
“Principles/values” concepts, portrayed on the left,
2. Values
3. Skills include empowerment, human diversity, and advocacy
for human rights and social, economic, and environ-
mental justice. Social workers also apply the “pro-
APPLICATION (of): cesses” inherent in generalist practice. These, depicted
Principles/Values Processes on the right, consist of the assumption of various
professional roles, the use of critical thinking skills,
Empowerment Professional Roles the employment of research-informed practice, and
Human Diversity Critical Thinking the undertaking of the planned change process. Each
concept portrayed in Figure 1.3 will subsequently be
Advocacy/Social & Research-Informed addressed in greater detail.
Economic Justice Practice Note that terms can sometimes be confusing. This
Planned Change book focuses on generalist practice and assumes that
social workers are generalists. Therefore, the terms
generalist social worker, worker, generalist practitioner,
TARGET SYSTEM
and practitioner are used interchangeably throughout
this book to refer to professionals undertaking gener-
Macro system
alist social work practice.
Mezzo system Generalist Practice: An Eclectic
Knowledge Base
Micro The acquisition of an eclectic knowledge
system
base is a key requirement for social work
practice. By an eclectic knowledge base,
we mean that social workers acquire the
most useful and effective information, EP 6b, 7b,
theoretical frameworks, and practice 8b, 9b
skills from multiple sources. Knowl-
F i g u r e 1 . 3 Definition of Generalist Practice edge entails understanding the dynamics of people’s
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
8 Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities
situations and determining what skills work best under residents. Sometimes, a macro level change occurs when
particular circumstances. This knowledge may be a worker seeking changes on behalf of an individual
drawn from many different fields such as psychology, client gets results that help multiple beneficiaries. For
political science, and sociology, among others. example, you might persuade an agency to be more
In addition, (as shown in Highlight 1.1), social flexible in interpreting its policies to benefit client A,
work historically has taught the knowledge, skills, and which ends up helping other clients in a like situation.
values needed to develop the competencies and com-
ponent behaviors in a series of distinct courses: human Identifying the Target System
behavior and the social environment, social wel- The target system is the system that social workers
fare policy and policy practice, social work practice, must modify or influence in order to reach their goals
research-informed practice, and practice-informed and have clients benefit from the planned change pro-
research. These courses help provide the theories and cess (Compton et al., 2005; Pincus & Minahan, 1973;
perspectives used in most areas of social work, includ- Sheafor & Horejsi, 2014). In macro practice, this
ing macro practice. usually involves an organization or community. For
example, perhaps the agency in which you work needs
Conceptualizing Macro Practice to improve some of its policies or services. Likewise,
The term macro practice, used throughout the book, your community may need to provide some new ser-
is the application of generalist practice skills to larger vice that citizens really need (e.g., a drug rehabilita-
organizational, institutional, or community systems. We tion program or a crime prevention effort). Consider
may be pursuing a planned change process on behalf of Mr. Strewynskowski’s case discussed earlier. Suppose
others to make the larger system more responsive to the supportive services such as hot meal delivery, part-time
needs of clients, the general public, or even to organiza- homemaker services, or community support groups
tional employees. Sometimes, we will be helping a larger do not exist for numerous senior residents. In that
system achieve changes it has decided are necessary. case, you might decide to target “the system,” either
agency or community, to develop such resources.
Defining the Macro Client System The concepts of organization and community
A client system is any individual, family, group, organi- are broad. They can refer to very small organizations
zation, or community that will ultimately benefit from or communities (such as small field offices, isolated
generalist social work intervention. A macro client sys- church groups, or villages) or to systems that are huge
tem typically involves larger numbers of clients, fami- entities (such as city, county, state, or federal govern-
lies, or groups of clients with similar characteristics or ment units). Similarly, a community in its broad sense
needs for resources or services. This might include such might be the citizens of an entire state or nation. Much
diverse groups as children needing alternative care or of the recent unrest in the Middle East reflects the
older adults needing services to help them remain in desire of huge segments of citizens in several coun-
their own home. For example, you may work to develop tries to bring about change and achieve social justice.
and implement a job placement program that will As you can see, systems can be of virtually any size.
eventually affect dozens or perhaps even hundreds of Therefore, the target system is any system that macro
unemployed people. Likewise, an agency, organization, intervention intends to change.
or community might be a macro client system seeking
help responding to internal or external events or pres- Defining the Change Agent System
sures. You may need to develop an internal agency Within a macro-practice perspective, the change agent
training program on new intervention techniques is the individual or group that initiates the macro-
intended to benefit the agency by improving its service change process. In our context, you are the change
provision. You may also be involved in efforts to pursue agent because this book intends to teach you how
social justice goals in concert with other members of to implement macro-level change. You might seek
the community, such as strengthening the laws prevent- changes such as improving agency effectiveness or
ing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. enhancing a community’s quality of life. Later on, you
The difference is that macro change benefits larger might gain the support of, and join coalitions with,
groups of people, whether the group involves a particu- others who also believe in the proposed macro change.
lar client population, agency personnel, or community In such situations, you become part of a larger system.
Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Attila and the
Huns
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States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
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Language: English
LONDON
CONSTABLE & COMPANY LTD.
1915
TO
BELOVED ITALY
WITH WHOM
IN THIS HOUR
OF RENEWED PERIL
ONCE MORE
WE FIGHT
THE BARBARIANS
A.D. 401-1915
INTRODUCTION
In these words, Claudian the poet of the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire, describes the Huns of the fifth century, the brood of
Attila to whom the German Kaiser appealed before the whole world
when he sent his brother to China to meet the Boxers:—
“When you meet the foe you will defeat him. No quarter will
be given, no prisoners will be taken. Let all who fall into your
hands be at your mercy. Just as the Huns a thousand years
ago under the leadership of Attila gained a reputation in virtue
of which they still live in historic tradition, so may the name of
Germany become known in such a manner in China that no
Chinaman will ever again dare even to look askance at a
German.”
These words will never be forgotten, for they have since been
translated into action not only upon the Chinese but upon the body of
Europe, upon the Belgians and the people of Northern France as
upon the long martyred people of Poland.
That appeal to the Hun startled Europe, and yet had we
remembered the history of Prussia, had we recalled the ethnology of
that race we ought not to have been surprised, for the Hun and the
Prussian have certainly much in common even racially, and Attila, or
Etzel, as the Germans call him, has ever played his part in the
Nibelungenlied and the legends of the Prussian people.
We know so little of the Huns of the fifth century: who they were,
whence indeed they came and whither they went, that it is
impossible definitely to assert or to deny that the Prussians of to-day
are their actual descendants. We must, it seems, give up the old
theory which Gibbon took from De Guignes that this savage people
were identical with the Hioung-nou whose ravages are recorded in
the history of China; but of this at least it seems we may be sure,
that they were a Turanian race, a race to which the Finns, Bulgarians
and Magyars also belong as well as the Croatians and the Turks.
Can we with any certainty claim that the Prussians also are of this
family?
Quatrefages has demonstrated that the population of the Prussias
is by its ethnological origin essentially Finno-Slavian. In every
respect, he asserts, and history bears him out, Prussia is
ethnologically distinct from the peoples she now rules over under the
pretence of a unity of race with them. Identity of language may mask
this truth, but it cannot alter it, for the difference is real and
fundamental.
Teutonic Germany has accepted Prussia as its sovereign, and no
one can question her right to do so; but being what she is, she has
been led astray by an anthropological error. Not content with
subordinating herself to these Finno-Slavs the real Germany has
adopted their hatred and worked out the brutal instincts of these
strangers whose iron yoke she has placed upon her nobler spirit. Her
union with Prussia has been founded by the sword and by blood,
cemented by war and crowned by spoliation. It is a crime not less
than the crime of that Attila to whom Prussia appeals as her true and
original hero, and now, as then, we have the right to believe in a
divine Nemesis. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?
It would seem, then, that as well physically as spiritually the
Prussians in so far as they are Finnic[1] are of the same Turanian
stock to which the Huns belonged and if only thus related to them.
That the relationship is closer still a thousand things of which we are
witnesses to-day, as for many hundred years past, would lead us to
surmise. And if they are not the same Barbarians, their barbarism is
the same.
It was at any rate Attila’s name that Kaiser Wilhelm II flung across
an astonished world a decade ago as the French might cry out upon
Charlemagne or Blessed Joan of Arc or Napoleon. And since he has
appealed to the Huns, to the Huns let him go.
For us there remain these facts to be considered, if, as is so
difficult, we are to benefit from the lessons of History.
Rome always defeated the Barbarians, but never succeeded in
destroying their power to renew the attack. Stilicho defeated Alaric
whenever he met him, yet Alaric at last entered Rome. Aetius broke
Attila repeatedly, yet Attila at last was able to threaten Italy.
Belisarius and Narses broke Vitiges and Totila, yet these Barbarians
ruined the peninsula. In spite of defeat the attack was always
renewed, because Rome had never really broken the Barbarian
power. And if we to-day spare the Germanies the uttermost price and
the last, if we fail to push this war to the bitter and the necessary
end, in twenty years or in fifty they will fall upon us again and
perhaps in an hour for us less fortunate. Delenda est Carthago.
It was perhaps not within the power of Rome to break once and for
all the advance of the Barbarians. Time has been upon our side. To-
day if our courage and our endurance are strong enough, if we set
our face like a flint, we may once for all rid Europe of this Barbarian
peril, which, now as always intent on the destruction and the loot of
civilisation, pleads necessity, invokes its gods, and knows neither
justice nor mercy.
Rome could not mobilise: we can. In the old days the Barbarians
could break off first the point, as it were, of civilisation, then a little
more, and so on till the butt choked them. They can no longer do
that. The railway and the automobile, the telegraph and the
telephone have endowed us with such a power of mobilisation that
we can compel the Barbarians to meet the butt of civilisation first
instead of last. If we have the will we may destroy once and for all
the power of the Barbarians, who have attempted to destroy
civilisation, not only under Alaric, Attila, and Totila, but under
Frederick of Hohenstaufen and Luther, and having finally overcome
them we may erect once more in Europe the Pax Romana and
perhaps—who knows?—even the old unity of Christendom.
May, 1915.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Godron says with truth: “The Prussians are neither Germans
nor Slavs; the Prussians are the Prussians. But one must
remember that they were of Finno-Slavonic race, not Teutonic,
and were subject to the King of Poland till comparatively recent
times. They remained heathen long after the rest of Germany was
Christianised.”
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
The Empire and the 3
Barbarians
CHAPTER II
The Huns and Attila 21
CHAPTER III
Attila and the Eastern 37
Empire
CHAPTER IV
The Imperial Embassy at 61
the Court of Attila
CHAPTER V
The Attack upon the 77
West
CHAPTER VI
Attila’s Advance from 93
the Rhine to Orleans
CHAPTER VII
The Retreat of Attila 111
and the Battle of the
Catalaunian Plains
CHAPTER VIII
Attila’s Attack upon 127
and Retreat from Italy
CHAPTER IX
Attila’s Home-coming 145
MAIN SOURCES
I. Ammiani Marcellini 153
Rerum Gestarum, Liber
XXXI
II. Ex Historia Byzantina 159
Prisci Rhetoris et
Sophistae
Ex Historia Gothica 170
Prisci Rhetoris et
Sophistae
III. Jornandes: De Rebus 207
Geticis
IV. Ex Vita MS. Sancti 225
Aniani Episcopi
Aurelianensis
I
THE EMPIRE AND THE BARBARIANS
At the opening of the fifth century of our era the Roman Empire
had long been not only the civilised world but Christendom. The four
centuries which had passed since the birth of Our Lord had seen in
fact the foundation of Europe, not as we know it to-day a mosaic of
hostile nationalities, but as one perfect whole in which all that is
worth having in the world lay like a treasure. There were born and
founded that they might always endure, the culture, the civilisation
and the Faith which we enjoy and by which we live. There were
established for ever the great lines upon which our art was to
develop, to change and yet not to die. There was erected the
supremacy of the idea that it might always renew our lives, our
culture, and our polity, that we might always judge everything by it
and fear neither revolution, nor defeat nor decay. There we
Europeans were established in the secure possession of our own
souls; so that we alone in the world develop from within to change
but never to die, and to be, alone in the world, Christians.
The outward and visible sign of the Empire, which above
everything else distinguished it from the world which surrounded it,
as an island is surrounded by an unmapped sea, was the Pax
Romana. This was domestic as well as political. It ensured a
complete and absolute order, the condition of civilisation, and,
established through many generations, it seemed immutable and
unbreakable. Along with it went a conception of law and of property
more fundamental than anything we are now able to appreciate,
while free exchange was assured by a complete system of
communication and admirable roads. There is indeed scarcely
anything that is really fundamental in our lives and in our politics that
was not there created. It was there our religion, the soul of Europe,
was born and little by little became the energy and the cause of all
that undying but changeful principle of life and freedom which rightly
understood is Europe. Our ideas of justice, our ideas of law, our
conception of human dignity and the structure of our society were
there conceived, and with such force that while we endure they can
never die. In truth, the Empire which it had taken more than a
millennium to build was the most successful and perhaps the most
beneficent experiment in universal government that has ever been
made.
The Empire fell. Why?
We cannot answer that question. The causes of such a
catastrophe, spiritual and material, are for the most part hidden from
us in the darkness that followed the catastrophe, in which civilisation
in the West all but perished. All we can do is to note that the
administration of this great State became so expensive that when
Alaric came over the Alps in 401 it was probably already bankrupt
and in consequence the population was declining; and that the
military problem before the Empire, the defence of its frontiers
against the outer welter of barbarism, was so expensive and so
naturally insecure that it was difficult to ensure and impossible with
due economy. Finally we ought to be sure that though the Empire
decayed and fell, it was not overthrown by the Barbarians. As in this
book we are concerned not indeed with the Barbarian invasions as a
whole but nevertheless with the most frightful and perhaps the most
destructive among them, we shall do well to consider more
particularly here for a moment one of the causes of that fall, though
not the chief one as we have said; the insecurity of the frontiers,
namely, and the problem this proposed which the Empire was, alas,
unable to solve.
The Empire was confined on the west by the ocean, on the south
by the desert of Africa, on the east by the Caspian Sea and the
Persian Gulf, on the north by the Rhine and the Danube, the Black
Sea and the Caucasus.
It was that northern frontier which was a fundamental weakness
and which at least from the middle of the third century continually
occupied the mind of the Roman administration. How to hold it?
Beyond that frontier lay a world largely unknown, a mere
wilderness of barbarians, tribes
always restless, always at war, always pressing upon the confines of
civilisation. Within lay all that is worth having in our lives, the hope of
the world. It was this which, then as now, had to be defended and
against the same enemy—barbarism. For barbarism does not
become less barbarous when it becomes learned, a savage is a
savage even in professorial dress. For this cause it is written:
change your hearts and not your garments.
The defence, then, of the frontier had been the chief problem of
the Empire perhaps from its foundation by Augustus and certainly for
two hundred years before Alaric crossed the Alps. Its solution was
attempted in various ways, before, in the year 292, Diocletian
attempted to deal with it by the revolutionary scheme of dividing the
Empire. But the division he made was, and perhaps unavoidably,
rather racial than strategic, the two parts of the Empire met at a
critical point on the Danube and by force of geography the eastern
part was inclined to an Asiatic outlook and to the neglect of the
Danube, while the western was by no means strong enough to hold
the tremendous line of the two rivers. Nevertheless the West made
an heroic attempt to fulfil its too onerous duty. The capital of the
vicariate of Italy was removed from Rome to Milan. This tremendous
act was purely strategical. It was thought, and rightly, that the frontier
would be more readily secured from Milan, which held, as it were, all
the passes of the Alps in its hands, than from Rome in the midst of
the long peninsula of Italy. It was a change more amazing than the
removal of the capital of the British Empire from London to
Edinburgh would be; but it was not enough. In 330, seventeen years
after Christianity had become the official religion of the Empire,
Constantine the Great for the same reasons of defence removed the
seat of the Empire to Byzantium, the new Rome on the Bosphorus,
which he renamed Constantinople.
That move, which has been so strongly condemned, would seem
in any right apprehension of what followed to have saved what could
be saved out of the foreseen and perhaps inevitable débâcle.
Constantinople remained till 1453 the secure capital of the Eastern
Government and of a Roman civilisation; it endured, and in more
than one critical period held up the citadel of the West—Italy—in its
hands.
It may be that nothing could have secured the West; that the
foundation of Constantinople saved the East is certain. Because the
West was the weaker and the richer, because the name of Rome
was so tremendous, the West, as we know, bore the full brunt of the
Barbarian assault. That assault was a much looser and more
haphazard affair than we have been wont to believe. The West was
rather engulfed than defeated. For a time it was lost in a sea of
barbarism; that it emerged, that it rearose, and that we are what we
are, we owe to the foundation of Constantinople and to the Catholic
Church.
I say that the Empire was rather engulfed than defeated. Let us
consider this.
In the year 375 the frontiers were secure; nevertheless before then
the defence had failed. Long before then it had become obvious that
the vast hordes of Barbarians beyond the Rhine and the Danube
could not be held back if anything should occur to drive them on. If
they came on they would have to be met, not beyond, or even upon
the rivers, but within the Empire itself.
If anything should occur to drive them on.... In the year 375 this
befell. Ammianus Marcellinus, the contemporary Roman historian,
writing of the incursions of the Barbarians, asserts that all the evils
which befell the Empire at that time were due to one people—the
Huns. In the year 375 the Huns were finally victorious over the Goths
who in 376 in utter despair appealed to the Eastern Emperor Valens
for protection. “Suppliant multitudes of that warlike nation,” we read
of the Goths, “whose pride was now humbled in the dust, covered a
space of many miles along the banks of the Danube. With
outstretched arms and pathetic lamentations they loudly deplored
their past misfortunes and their present danger; acknowledged that
their only hope of safety was in the clemency of the Roman
Government; and most solemnly protested that if the gracious
liberality of the Emperor would permit them to cultivate the waste
lands of Thrace they would ever hold themselves bound by the
strongest obligations of duty and gratitude to obey the laws and
guard the tenets of the republic.” Their prayers were granted and
their service was accepted by the Imperial Government. They were
transported over the Danube into the Roman Empire. In some ways
this act and its date 376 are among the most momentous in the
history of Europe.
Undisciplined and restless this nation of near a million Barbarians
suddenly introduced into civilisation was a constant anxiety and
danger. Ignorant of the laws they had sworn to keep, as well as of
the obligations and privileges of civilisation, the Goths were at the
mercy of their masters, who exploited them without scruple, till driven
to madness they revolted and began the fatal march through Moesia,
entering Thrace at last not as the guests of the Empire but as its
victorious enemy. They encamped under the walls of Hadrianople
which presently they besieged, laying waste the provinces; and it
was not till Theodosius had ascended the Imperial throne that they
were successfully dealt with, forced to submit, and settled in Thrace
and Asia Minor.
But such a result could not endure. The Barbarians but awaited a
leader, and when he appeared, as he did in the person of Alaric,
after the death of Theodosius, they turned on Constantinople itself,
which they were able to approach but not to blockade. In 396 Alaric
marched southward into Greece; from Thermopylae to Sparta he
pursued his victorious way, avoiding Athens rather from superstition
than from fear of any mortal foe. Early in 396, however, Stilicho, who
was later to win such fame in the Italian campaign, set sail from Italy,
met Alaric in Arcadia, turned him back and seemed about to compel
his surrender in the prison of the Peloponnesus. In this, however, he
was not successful. Alaric was able to cut his way out and by rapid
marches to reach the Gulf of Corinth and to transport his troops, his
captives and his spoil to the opposite shore. There he succeeded in
negotiating a treaty with Constantinople whereby he entered its pay
and was declared Master General of Eastern Illyricum. This befell in
399.
The intervention of Stilicho, successful though it had been, had
proved one thing before all others; the political separation of the East
and the West. The sailing of Stilicho and his army was the
intervention of the West to save the East, for it was the East that was
then in danger. The West was betrayed. The East made terms with
the Barbarian and employed him. It behoved the West to look to
itself, for it was obvious that the East would save itself at last by
sacrificing the West.
The West was ready. A scheme of defence had been prepared
which, as we shall see, was the best that could in the circumstances
have been devised. With a directness and a clarity worthy of Rome
the advisers of Honorius, then in Milan, determined to sacrifice
everything if need be to the defence of the European citadel, of Italy
that is; and, after all, considering the position of Alaric in Illyricum, it
was that which was chiefly threatened. If it fell it was certain that the
whole of the West must collapse.
The problem before the advisers of Honorius was not an easy one.
To solve it with certainty enormous sacrifices were necessary, but to
solve it meant the salvation of the world. It was therefore determined
to abandon the Rhine and the Danube, for already Alaric was within
those lines. It was determined—and this was the decisive thing—to
abandon the Alps, to make, that is to say, Cisalpine Gaul, or as we
say the Lombard Plain, the battlefield, and to hold Italy proper along
the line of the Apennines. I have examined and explained this
strategy at length elsewhere;[2] here it is only necessary to say that
its amazing success justified a policy so realistic.
The theory of the commanders of Honorius was that the
Apennines were by nature impregnable save at one place, the
narrow pass between them and the Adriatic, which they had long
designed Ravenna to hold. Their intention to hold this line was
determined not only by this theory, but by this, too, that they were
something more than uncertain of the attitude of the Eastern Empire.
Their strategy meant the abandonment of the richest province south
of the Alps, the richest and the most ancient; but if the military theory
which regarded the Apennines as impassable were right it meant the
certain and immediate salvation of the soul of the West and the
eventual salvation of the whole.
Honorius and his ministers had not long to wait. Having looted the
provinces of Europe within the dominion of the Eastern Emperor,
Alaric “tempted by the power, the beauty and the wealth of Italy ...
secretly aspired to plant the Gothic standard on the walls of Rome,
and to enrich his army with the accumulated spoils of an hundred
triumphs.”
In November, 401, Alaric entered Venetia by the Julian Alps and
passed by Aquileia without taking it, intent on the spoil of the South.
As he came on Honorius retired from Milan to Ravenna; the gates of
Italy were barred. Then came Stilicho over the Cisalpine Plain, met
Alaric, who had crossed the Po, at Pollentia, and defeated him and,
following his retreat, broke him at Asta so that he compelled him to
recross the Alps. In 403 Alaric again entered Venetia. Stilicho met
him at Verona and once more hurled him back. The barred gates of
Italy had scarce been questioned.
It was not Alaric, after all, but another Barbarian, Radagaisus, who
was first to demand an entrance. In 405 he traversed the same
Alpine passes as Alaric had used, passed Aquileia, crossed the Po
and shunning the Via Emilia, which led through the pass Ravenna
barred, adventured over the Apennines which the Roman generals
had conceived as impassable by a Barbarian army. They were right.
When Radagaisus saw the South he was starving. Stilicho found him
at Fiesole and cut him to pieces. But the remnant of his army
escaped as Alaric had done, it was not annihilated; it returned
through Cisalpine Gaul and fell upon Gaul proper. Then in 408
Stilicho was murdered in Ravenna by order of the Emperor.
This last disaster was the cause of what immediately followed.
When in 408 Alaric invaded Venetia he looted and destroyed as he
wished, for there was no one to meet him. He took the great road
southward and found the gate open; passed Ravenna without
opposition, marched to Rome and after three sieges entered and
pillaged it and was on his way southward to enjoy and to loot the
South and Sicily, Placidia, the Emperor’s sister, a captive in his train,
when he died at Cosenza in 410. His brother-in-law Adolphus,
erected as king upon the shields of the Goths—there by the
monstrous grave of his predecessor—concluded a peace with
Honorius similar to that which years before Alaric had made with
Constantinople. He was received into the Imperial service,
consented to cross the Alps, and, what was to become a precedent
for a yet more outrageous demand, received the hand of Placidia,
the Emperor’s sister, in marriage. Thus the retreat of the Barbarian
was secured, the peace of Italy restored and a repose obtained
which endured for some forty-two years.
It is interesting to observe the extraordinary likeness between
Alaric’s attack upon the East and his invasion of the West. Indeed,
the only difference between them is the fact that Constantinople was
never really in danger, whereas Rome was entered and looted. The
intention of both invasions was the same—loot; the result of both
was the same—tribute and service in return for the evacuation of the
immediate provinces by the Barbarian.
The Imperial failure East and West was a failure in morale and in
politics; it was not rightly understood a military failure: Alaric had
always been defeated when he was attacked. It was the failure of the
West to attack him that gave him Rome at last. The Imperial advisers
perhaps thought they had solved the question he had propounded to
them, when, after Alaric’s death, they had obtained the retreat of the
Barbarian across the Alps—a retreat he was as glad to carry out as
they to order, for he was in a sort of trap—and had secured at least
his neutrality by admitting him into the service of the Empire. But the
peace of more than a generation which followed their act was as
illusory as it was contemptible.
The whole Empire had received from Alaric a moral blow from
which it was never really to recover. It is true that much which
happened in the years that immediately followed the retreat of
Adolphus was fortunate. Placidia the spoil and the bride and later the
fugitive widow of Alaric’s successor returned in triumph to Ravenna
to be the unwilling bride of her deliverer Constantius. Largely through
her influence, after the death of Honorius, when she ruled in
Ravenna with the title of Augusta as the guardian of her son, the