Course finder

<< return to browsing

Semester 1

Understanding sustainable welfare and eco-social policy (SCPL10044)

Subject

Social Policy

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students are welcome to take this course. Although this course does not have any pre-requisites, it is designed for students who have studied two full years of Social Policy beforehand. If you have not studied this subject area to that level, it is your responsibility to ensure the course is an appropriate level for you during the first week of teaching, and you must drop this course (before the Course Change Deadline) if you do not have the required background knowledge/skills.

Course Summary

The course engages with one of the most difficult contemporary questions for social and public policy: how can we reach the goal of equitable and fair welfare policies for all without destroying our planet in the process? The dilemma at the heart of much of social policy is its continuing reliance on growth as the means of poverty alleviation and the answer to inequality. By engaging with the concepts such as 'wellbeing', 'sustainability', 'planetary boundaries', 'zero growth' and 'just transition', the course explores the ways social and public policy scholars and practitioners are responding to the challenge of rethinking the design and delivery of social policy in line with the notion of sustainable wellbeing.The course takes an applied approach where students will engage with real-world policy dilemmas and critically appraise suggested solutions. The practical element of the course is further supported by contributions from external expert input.

Course Description

The course examines global environmental issues, such as climate change, from the perspective of social and public policy. These issues will be explored by linking scholarship on environmental policy, climate change policy and sustainability with core questions of social policy. How can we meet the goal of sustainability without compromising on the goals of social justice, fairness and equity? How can we continue to develop progressive social policies without reliance on economic growth as the main driver of such policies? Students will engage with these types of questions through real-world cases drawn from a range of countries and organisations. Examples of issues to be discussed: Climate change as a wicked policy problem; Wellbeing and its measurements; Wellbeing and welfare states in the global North and South; Post-growth, de-growth, green growth; Just transitions; Sustainable Development Goals; Ecological perspectives to social policy; Social policy tools to achieve environmentally and socially just outcomes. *Learning experience*: The course will be taught through a weekly two-hour lecture/seminar. The lecture element of each session will introduce the core material and concepts for each week, which will be then discussed further in the seminar part of the session through group work and other interactive activities. Each session will consist of mini lectures, punctuated by discussion. In order to bring in external stakeholders and practitioners we may also make use of pre-recorded online material. In preparation for each session students will be asked to read both core academic text(s) and cases (these could draw, for example, on reports, journal articles, organisations) which will be used to demonstrate and better understand the key concepts introduced in the mini lectures. The assessment on this course will take the form of a policy brief and long essay. Preparations for assessment will be supported by making available illustrative examples of policy briefs and dedicated in-class advice sessions.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

view the timetable and further details for this course