Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
SP20006 Social justice, social policy and the state |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Intermediate |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: EX100 |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: The aims of the unit are to:
* Introduce students to theories of social justice * Explain a range of concepts and principles used to justify the role of the state in social policy, and the political and theoretical contexts in which they were developed. * Explain a range of concepts and principles used to critique the role of the state in social policy and the political and theoretical contexts in which they were developed. * Apply the concepts and principles to specific and topical social policy issues, debates and 'problems' * Evaluate the relative merits of different arguments in terms of both theoretical debates and empirical examples. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit the students will: * Be familiar with theories of social justice and the broad range of principles around which political debates in social policy have been structured. * Understand how different principles relate to different theoretical and political traditions. * Be able to explain how principles of equity, need, justice, liberty, citizenship, risk and equality can be used to defend or critique state provision of social policy. * Be able to apply some of these principles to analyse and evaluate current debates in social policy. Skills: Intellectual skills: * think creatively and analytically * communicate an argument * evaluate others' arguments and research. * critically evaluate and assess research and evidence as well as a variety of other information. * select appropriate and relevant information from a wide source and large body of knowledge. * synthesise information from a number of sources in order to gain a coherent understanding. Transferable/Key skills: * Study & Learning skills * Basic Information and Computing Technology skills * Inter-personal and communication skills * Revision and Examination skills * Time-management and administrative skills * Presentation skills and verbal communication * Team and group working skills * prioritise workloads, and utilise long- and short-term planning skills. Content: Each lecture will cover one core principle, including: Social Justice, Need, Freedom, Equality, Equity, Citizenship, Community, Risk. The seminars will apply each to one issue or problem in contemporary social policy; for example, training schemes and equality of opportunity; citizenship and rights to a basic income, allocation of resources. |