Social Studies 2013/14
SS1765 Introduction to Social Policy - Social Policy Concepts / the Irish
Welfare State
Duration
Two Semesters (Michaelmas and Hilary Terms)
Contact hours p/w: 2 lectures (weekly) 1 tutorial (weekly)
Assessment:
1 assignment (25%) and 1 exam (75%)
Weighting:
10 ECTS
Lecturer:
Ms Judy O’Shea
Description
This course introduces students to the study of social policy. It is run over two
terms. Section One Social Policy Concepts (Michaelmas term) introduces
students to the key ideas nd concepts underpinning social policy. Section two –
The Irish Welfare State (Hilary term)
introduces students to the history,
development, ideology and institutional structure of the Irish welfare state.
SS2767 (A) Health Policy
Duration:
One Semester (Michaelmas Term)
Contact hours p/w: 2 lectures (weekly) ; 1 tutorial (fortnightly)
Assessment:
One assignment – 100% of overall grade
Weighting:
5 ECTS
Lecturer:
Ms Judy O’Shea
Description:
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the history, politics values,
funding and structure of contemporary Irish health policy. The following topics
weill be covered:
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Ireland
the social determinants of health
socio-economic status and health status
the historical development of Irish health policy
the structure and funding of the Irish health service
the Irish health care system in a comparative context
inequalities in Irish health care
the public/private mix of health care provision and funding in
the Irish Health Reform Program.
SS2767 (B) Housing and Homelessness Policy
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Duration:
One Semester (Michaelmas Term)
Contact hours p/w: 2 lectures per week, 3 tutorials
Assessment:
One assignment – 100% of overall grade
Weighting:
5 ECTS
Lecturer:
Mr Simon Brooke
Description:
This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to housing and
homelessness policy in Ireland. It will include a discussion of the following:
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What is housing policy?
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Why do governments intervene in the housing market?
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What is the relevance of housing tenure?
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What theoretical approaches are there to housing policy?
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What have been the main milestones in the development of
Irish
housing policy since the mid 19th century?
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Why did house prices rise so quickly, only to fall again?
 What is the housing experience of minority ethnic households
in Ireland?
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Have government housing policy objectives been achieved?
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What theoretical explanations are there for the nature and
extent of homelessness?
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How have homeless services changed during the last 20 years?
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What are the key current homelessness policy issues?
SS2785 (A) Social Security Policy
Duration:
One Semester (Hilary Term)
Contact hours p/w: 2 lectures (weekly) ; 1 tutorial (fortnightly)
Assessment:
End of year examination – 100% of overall grade
Weighting:
5 ECTS
Lecturer:
Mr Anthony McCashin
Description:
This course introduces students to the basic concepts underlying the system of
cash payments to individuals and families in welfare states that are variously
described as ‘social protection’, ‘social security’ ‘social welfare’. It will outline the
development of social security with particular reference to Ireland and then
examine key components of the system- payments for children, pensioners and
so on. As poverty alleviation is one of the key objectives of policy in this area,
some attention will be given to definitions of poverty and to recent research
exploring the link between financial poverty and the inadequacies of the social
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security system.
SS2785 (B) Crime and Irish Society
Duration:
One Semester (HilaryTerm )
Contact hours p/w: 2 lectures (weekly); 1 tutorial (fortnightly)
Assessment:
1 assignment (30%) and 1 exam (70%)
Weighting:
5 ECTS
Lecturer:
Dr Caroline O’Nolan
Description:
This module examines the dynamics of crime and punishment in Irish society. It
provides an historical overview of the development of the Irish criminal justice
system and debates key contemporary issues.
SS3390 (A) Crime and Social Policy – The Carceral State
Duration:
One Semester (Michaelmas Term)
Contact hours p/w: 2 lectures (weekly); 1 tutorial (weekly)
Assessment:
To be confirmed
Weighting:
5 ECTS
Lecturer:
Dr Eoin O’Sullivan
Description:
Over the past three decades, the United States has built a carceral state that is
unprecedented among Western countries and in US history. The growth of the
prison population and the retributive turn in US penal policy are well documented,
but the political causes and consequences of this massive expansion are not well
understood. The wider political consequences and analytical implications of the
carceral state are a new and expanding area of interest. This module will explore
and debate the various explanations offered for the rise of the Carceral State in
the US and the degree to which these policies are likely to transfer to Europe.
SS3390 (B) Crime and Social Policy Justice Policy
Contemporary Issues in Criminal
Duration:
One Semester (Hilary Term)
Contact hours p/w: 2 lectures (weekly); 1 tutorial (weekly)
Assessment:
1 assignment (30%) and 1 exam (70%)
Weighting:
5 ECTS
Lecturer:
Dr Eoin O’Sullivan
Description:
The module will explore the rise of new forms of urban policing and the regulation
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of ‘incivilities’, with a particular focus on the construction of ‘disorderly’,
‘disreputable’ and ‘anti-social behaviour’.
SS3400
Families and Family Policy - Family Policy in Ireland: SocioLegal Issues
Duration:
One Semester (Hilary Term)
Contact hours p/w: One lecture and one seminar per week
Assessment:
1 presentation (10%), 1 essay (30%), 1 exam (60%)
Weighting:
5 ECTS
Lecturer:
Dr Evelyn Mahon
Description:
The Constitutional Review of the Family put a number of key issues on the social
policy agenda in Ireland. In response to that report this course will focus on a
number of family policy topics in Ireland which are best analysed within a sociolegal perspective. They include the following: Fatherhood: changing rights and
responsibilities; The unmarried family; gender, marriage and divorce; children
and their rights in contemporary society. This module will enable students to
explore and analyse the following :
Changing gender roles and the emergence of the fathers’ rights movement;
cohabitation and partnerships rights; divorce and post divorce family formation,;
children’s rights in contemporary society.
SS3380 Comparative Welfare States
Duration:
Two Semesters (Michaelmas Term)
Contact hours p/w: Two lectures and one seminar per week
Assessment:
To be confirmed
Weighting:
5 ECTS
Lecturer:
Dr Virpi Timonen (Michaelmas Term)
MS Judy O’Shea (Hilary Term)
Description:
This module introduces students to the origins and diversity of modern welfare
states. Particular attention will be given to the development and the ‘long crisis’
of the welfare state –and the various options proposed and implemented to
reform welfare states. The course adopts a comparative perspective drawing on
examples from a variety of welfare states and different policy sectors.
SS4722 Poverty, Inequality and Redistribution
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Duration:
Two Terms Michaelmas and Hilary
Contact hours p/w: Three hours per week equivalent
Assessment:
2 essays (50%); 1 x 3 hour exam (50%)
Weighting:
15 ECTS
Lecturer:
Mr Anthony McCashin
Description:
This course offers a critical overview of the definition and measurement of
poverty and inequality and examines the empirical evidence about the extent and
nature of poverty with particular reference to Ireland. The course focuses on the
policy interventions designed to address financial poverty and redistribute income
– these include the social security and personal income system. Some attention
is also paid to the rationale and impact of public social expenditure more
generally. The course is of relevance to students interested in contemporary
issues of public policy; the course readings are empirical, but not technical.
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