“Social Work, the Americanization Movement, and the Construction of Americans, 1874-1930” offers the first comprehensive study of social work’s involvement in the Americanization movement.

Yoosun Park, PhD, MSW, associate professor and director of the PhD in Social Welfare program at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), has authored a new book, “Social Work, the Americanization Movement, and the Construction of Americans, 1874-1930,” published by Routledge in June 2026.

Coauthored with Michael Reisch, PhD, Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice Emeritus at the University of Maryland, the book explores how the emerging profession of social work played a significant role in the Americanization movement. The authors argue that social workers not only helped implement the movement’s goals but also developed and promoted theories and practices that shaped ideas of citizenship, belonging, and who was considered “American.”

Park and Reisch examine how social work contributed to defining the boundaries of inclusion and exclusion during a pivotal period in U.S. history. Although Americanization, as a national movement, ebbed by the mid-20th century, the authors contend that many of its underlying assumptions continue to influence contemporary social work practice and broader national conversations about immigration, identity, and belonging.

As the first comprehensive historical study of social work’s role in immigration discourse, the book fills a significant gap in social welfare scholarship. It introduces an important area of inquiry for researchers and students in social work, social history, ethnic studies, political science, and related fields, and it is particularly relevant for academic courses on social welfare policy, social welfare history, social work ethics, immigration, and the history of ethnic minorities in the United States.

“I came across the phrase the Americanization movement a long time ago when I was studying social welfare history, and it stuck with me,” says Dr. Park. “I started the process thinking that I was going to write about immigrants and immigration, and realized as I was doing research that I had really signed on for something much bigger, because it ended up being a story about the country. What is America? Who gets to be American? And perhaps more importantly, who doesn’t get to be American?”

Park’s research focuses on immigration, the critical history of social welfare and social work, and discourse analysis. Her scholarship examines social work’s historical relationships with racialized populations, particularly immigrants, and investigates how those histories continue to shape social work research, education, and practice today. Her award-winning work is taught in schools of social work across the United States and internationally.

Dr. Park will discuss the book and its connections to her broader research on immigration, social welfare history, and belonging at an SP2 event in October. Additional details will be announced in the coming months.