The course is divided in four parts. The first introduces classic social policy, discussing the main concepts and theories developed in the Western world during the 19th and 20th century. We will also illustrate the main explanations proposed in the literature to investigate welfare state development and Esping-Andersen's welfare regime typologies (and the main critiques to his comparative framework). The second introduces social policy in Latin America, Eastern Europe and East Asia. We will mix a general understanding of welfare regimes in these continents with a more specific appraisal of some national case. The third highlights the main challenges (namely new social risks, family changes, economic crises) for welfare states in the Post-Fordist era and analyses how different countries are coping with social change. The fourth and last part of the course considers welfare states as an independent variable: alternative welfare state configurations have different effects on redistribution and the economic competitive advantage of countries.
Federico FILETTI,Emanuele FERRAGINA
Cours magistral seul
English
Students are expected to read ‘the required readings' every week, which constitute the backbone of the coursework. ‘Recommended and additional readings' provide fine-grained insights about specific topics and broader theoretical frameworks.
The course is listed under the rubric deepening (‘approfondissement') offered by the formation commune and follows a decentralization related to specific detailed questionings around class, gender and more broadly critical political economy (‘logique de décentrement problématique'). The course aims to bring forward and complete previous classes the students might have followed in sociology, political science and economics. Social policy is an interdisciplinary field and the correct understanding of this course would require previous basic knowledge of the main political families and rudimenent of economics. The course has a critical take, questioning traditional assumptions around the functioning of economics (as for example the use of public and private debt, the idea of austerity in the public discourse), rediscussing the concept of gender in relation to family policy, and being broadly based on the notion that political economies in most developed countries have transitioned from a Fordist to a neoliberal mode of functioning. Students who have studied politics and economics mostly according to mainstream literature are particularly invited to join in, as this course will challenge some of their assumptions.
Autumn 2020-2021
The exam has two components:
Summary and critique of weekly readings (50% of grade): Each student will summarize and critique the readings for one selected week (the student is entirely free to choose the week of interest). You need to summarize a minimum of 5 readings (each chapter is considered one reading) assigned for the selected week. The page limit is 4 1.5-spaced pages (use 12-point Times New Roman font). The summary and critique paper is due by 12am on Week 7. / The final exam is divided in two parts and covers the entire course. A first part includes 10 multiple choice questions (one point for every correct answer, -0.5 for each incorrect answer), and a second proposing two open questions (five points maximum for each question).
Lecture Course.
Castles, F. et al. (eds.) (2010) The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Emmenegger, P. et al. (eds.) (2012) The Age of Dualization. The Changing Face of Inequality in Deindustrializing Societies, New York: Oxford University Press.