Reach out, raise hope, change society.

The School of Social Work leads the profession in teaching, research, innovation, collaboration and service.

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Specialized pathways focus on theories and interventions related to practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and/or society.

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Upcoming Events

October 19 - 20, 2026

Fall 2026 Break

No class or field - Fall Break

October 19, 2026

Register to Vote at SSW!

Are you registered to vote? Come register with us!

ENGAGE and Turn Up Turnout will have voter registration tables at the School of Social Work on:

October 21, 2026

Prospective Student Session - Connect Virtually with a Current MSW Student

Join current MSW students from the Office of Student Services and Enrollment Management for a session with the intended audience of prospective students.
October 22, 2026

MSW Prospective Student Information Session - Virtual

This online session will provide the opportunity to learn more about the University of Michigan School of Social Work MSW program. Topics covered will include: On-Campus Program, Online Program, Curriculum Options, Application Process, Financial Aid, and more!

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Artwork at the SSW

Memento

Ruth Weisberg (American) , b. 1940

1997
Lithograph
99.11

SSWB 2823

Ruth Weisberg relies on her knowledge of art and art history (UM Stamps BFA 1963 and MA 1965; Academia di Belle Arti, Perugia, Italy; Stanley William Hayter's printmaking Atelier 17) for inspiration and source material. She quotes works by Venetian painters, French Impressionists, and historical photographs. She is not a copyist, however, creating new glosses on traditional themes which encourage us to reconsider the past and what we can learn from it now. Weisberg inserts contemporary details, images of family members, and icons that modify the meaning of the original. History, memory, beliefs, and heritage are central to Weisberg’s career. She believes they can be deployed to create new kinds of imagination for viewers in which they can “project their own struggles, stories, and desires.”

Memento, a lithograph based on a pre-Holocaust class picture of Jewish students in Germany does this. It is redolent of Holocaust stories of loss and survival, of the mystery of missing family members. We see a happy group of students but know their tragic future from our past. Weisberg’s lithograph shows a soft image lifted out of the specific details of the original photograph. We do not see the particular architectural setting but a non-descript smudgy background that casts a poignant atmosphere around the students. Weisberg has given flowers to all students who hold them in their hands. By minimizing the details and specificity, Weisberg allows the print to be a warning to our current situation. The title, Memento comes from Latin and is literally ‘remember!’ the imperative of meminisse, an injunction not to repeat the inhumane acts of the past.