Unit name | Concepts and Ideologies of Welfare in the Contemporary World |
---|---|
Unit code | SPOL10030 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Eroglu-Hawksworth |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School for Policy Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
The unit seeks to provide an introduction to the major concepts, theories and ideologies that have shaped social policy and perspectives on welfare and welfare states. It also introduces a range of theoretical perspectives that provide a critique of the welfare state and/or an alternative vision of welfare society. It highlights the socio-economic, political and historical contexts of these theories to illustrate their relevance to and impact upon policy making and welfare provision.
It is organised into four main parts. The first part introduces key social policy concepts, such as needs, citizenship and community, the mixed economy of welfare, equality and risk. The second part considers ideologies of welfare, such as Conservatism, Liberalism, Socialism, Social Democracy, and Neo-Liberalism and their evolution. The third part examines critical perspectives on social policy, such as marxism, feminism, environmentalism, post-modernism and anti-racism. The fourth part brings these concepts, ideologies, and perspectives into focus with analysis of current policy issues in order to illustrate their utility in contemporary analysis in matters such as fiscal crisis, poverty and inequality; diversity, migration, health and aging, and other policy issues as appropriate.
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
Lectures (20 hours) and Seminars (10 hours) plus 1 reading week and 1 revision week.
Formative assessment: A timed one hour 'practice exam' to assess and support the students' preparations for the summative assessment.
Summative assessment: 2 hour unseen exam (100%) which will enable the students to meet the intended learning outcomes for the unit.
All assessment is marked against the published marking criteria for this level, as stated in the Social Policy Programme handbook.
Alcock, P, May, M and S.Wright (2012) The Student's Companion to Social Policy, (4th Ed.). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Blakemore, K. and L. Warwick-Booth (2013) Social policy: An Introduction. Buckingham: OUP.
Dean, H. (2012) Social Policy: a Short Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press
Fitzpatrick, T. (2011) Welfare Theory: an Introduction. Hampshire: Palgrave.
George, V. and Wilding, P. (1994) Welfare and Ideology. London: Routledge.
Greve, B. (2013) The Routledge Handbook of the Welfare State. London: Routledge.
Lister, R. (2010) Theories and Concepts in Social Policy. Bristol: Policy Press
Taylor, G (2007) Ideology and Welfare. London: Palgrave.
Pierson, C. Castles, F. and Naumann, K. (2014) The Welfare State Reader. Cambridge: Polity Press.