- Teacher: Evelyne Patrizia Huebscher
Welfare states and social security schemes are central to industrialized modern democracies. However, globalization and structural domestic changes increasingly challenge these achievements. Questions concerning equality and the level and type of redistribution dominate the public and political discourse in many states. The course aims at providing the analytical and conceptional tools which are useful to understand the development of different welfare stat systems, and compare different types of welfare state systems and social policies. The course is divided into two main parts: The first part gives an overview of the different types of welfare states and their development over time. The characteristic features of the different welfare state types will be discussed and potential weaknesses and sources of inequality of welfare state systems will be identified. In the second part of the course, students will learn about the challenges and problems traditional social security schemes and welfare states are facing and how different polities reorganize and reform their social security schemes. In addition to the focus on factors constraining social policy-making at the macro-level, we will also discuss the (changing) demands for social policy at the micro-level. The readings for this course mostly consist of classics of the comparative welfare state literature (first part) and of recent articles published in peer-reviewed journals (second part).
The main objective of the course is to gain insight into the broad field of comparative welfare state research and to sensitize participants how and under what circumstances social policies contribute to growing inequalities among different groups in modern societies. After taking this seminar, students will (1) be able to identify and classify different welfare states systems, (2) they will know about the current debates in the literature, (3) they will be able to critically read scholarly articles and identify their core arguments and weaknesses, and (4) they will be able to analyze and compare social policy reforms across countries and relate the changes to the existing theories in the field.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & ASSESSMENT
The course
will be held in a seminar format. Regular attendance of the seminar and
active participation is required. No more than two absences during the
semester without prior notification via email are granted. Students will
have to present/discuss a scholarly article and lead the discussion
that follows the presentation. The presentation is based on the
recommended reading. In order to prepare the discussion in advance and
identify critical points, all participants are required to upload one
question or critical comment related to the required reading(s) of the
week. These questions will also help the presenters to structure their
input and mediate the discussion. The questions need to be uploaded to
the course platform (https://moodle.unige.ch) two days in advance to
give the presenters enough chance to structure and prepare the
discussion and adjust their presentation in the light of the topics
raised by the participants. Please be reminded that this is a six
credits (6 ECTS) course, which implies that the course requires
participants to read up to two (2) scholarly articles per session and
actively participate in the discussions.
The final grade consists of the following components:
- Submission of questions related to the reading and active participation in weekly discussions: 10%
- Presentation in class and leading of the discussion: 20%
- Group work: Mapping Suisse Social Policy Schemes: 30%
- Research essay: 40%
