author
Alice S. (Alice Squires) Cheyney
1888–1968
A pioneering writer on social work and labor policy, this early 20th-century scholar helped explain a field that was still defining itself. Her work connects practical reform, academic study, and international labor issues in a clear, thoughtful way.
1 Audiobook
A definition of social work: A thesis in sociology
by Alice S. (Alice Squires) Cheyney
About the author
Born in 1888, Alice S. Cheyney was an American writer and researcher whose work focused on social work and labor questions. She is best known for A Definition of Social Work, a study published in 1923 and connected with the University of Pennsylvania, where it also appeared as her Ph.D. thesis.
Cheyney wrote at a time when social work was emerging as a more formal profession, and her books helped describe its purpose and scope. Records also show later work on labor policy and the International Labour Organization, including International Labor Standards and American Legislation and editorial work on The International Labor Organization.
She died in 1968. Although not widely known today, her writing offers a valuable window into how social work and international labor reform were being discussed in the first half of the 20th century.