Department of Social Policy and Social Work
Short Outlines of year 3 Modules available to SPS students 2015-2016
Table 1: Option Modules Available in 2015-2016 for SPS
Autumn Term 2015
Criminal Justice and Policing SPY00011H
Housing Policy SPY00001H
Poverty and Inequality SPY00036H
Vulnerability, Deviance and Social Control
SPY00039H
Welfare States in Crisis SPY00035H
Spring Term 2016
Death and Policy SPY00038H
Gender and Youth Cultures SPY00025H
Gender, Citizenship and the Welfare State SPY00032H
Sustainable Development and Social Inclusion
SPY00017H
Social Enterprise SPY00033H
Illicit Drug Use SPY00012H
Welfare State Futures SPY00014H
Well Being of Children and Young People SPY00020H
Youth Justice SPY00021H
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Module Name:
Criminal Justice and Policing SPY00011H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Lisa O’Malley
Duration:
One term (Autumn)
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week: lectures, seminars, group
discussions and presentations
Rationale:
The police and policing are central to understanding
contemporary responses to crime and the fear of crime. In
recent years the police have suffered a crisis of legitimacy
arising from increasing expectations, high profile public
scandals and the threats to their role emerging from new
trends in private policing activities. The increasing
importance of ‘community’ in modern policing as well as
an emphasis on developing international policing methods
has extended and fragmented aspects of the traditional
police role. In this module we will explore what the police
do; how they do it; and the challenges facing the police in
the 21st century.
Aims and Objectives:
• To facilitate a critical understanding of key issues and
policies in relation to contemporary policing
• To introduce students to the social, political and cultural
aspects of policing
• To explore contemporary policing policy and practice in
relation to specific types of crime.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module, students who have attended the
lectures and workshops and also undertaken
complementary reading will:
• Understand the historical context within which
contemporary policing has developed
• Be in a position to analyse theories and policies relevant
to policing and the police
• Be able to reflect critically on trends and practices in
policing
• Have an in depth understanding of policing in relation to
one particular type of crime
Assessment:
One essay of 3,500 words
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Module Name:
Death and Policy
SPY00038H
Credits:
20
Duration:
One term (Spring)
Module Convenor:
Julie Rugg
Timetable and Format:
Three hour session per week: lectures, seminars, group
discussions and presentations
Aims and Objectives:
In recent years the notion that death is a taboo subject has
collapsed, and in a range of policy arenas an increasing
emphasis has been placed on achieving a ‘good death’.
This module explores the concept of a ‘good death’ and
uses this framework to assess policy intervention in a range
of non-medicalised arenas. The module will examine the
activities of the major actors and agencies that are involved
in funerary activity following a death; consider the role of
policy in framing those activities; and review the policy
responses to ‘bad’ death that is a consequence of extreme
events and circumstances.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module, student who have attended the
lectures and workshops and undertaken complementary
reading will:
 Understand the historical context that has framed
the conception of a ‘good death’
 Be conversant with a range of analytical
frameworks to evaluate funerary practice
 Be able to reflect critically on the role of policy in
framing funerary practice
Assessment:
One essay of 3,500 words
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Module Name:
Gender and Youth Cultures SPY00025H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Aniela Wenham
Duration:
One term (Spring)
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week
Rationale:
Gender and Youth Cultures will explore how young people
perform and regulate their gendered identities. The module
aims to give students an appreciation of the changing
shape of youth cultures and the importance of differences
based on sexuality, social class and ethnicity, amongst a
whole range of other complex social dynamics. The
module will also consider youth cultures wider afield,
appreciating difference and diversity, and the many ways in
which young people play out their gendered identities on a
global, national and local scale. Students will also explore
popular youth culture, in particular youth consumption.
Aims and Objectives:
Learning Outcomes:
Assessment:

To gain appreciation of the way gender is
performed by young people today
 To identify the key dimensions to the changing
state of youth over time
 To explore distinct features of contemporary youth
cultures
 To consider youth cultures and gender in the
global context
 To appreciate the holistic nature of young people’s
lives and the interplay of social inequalities to their
emerging identities
By the end of the module students should be able to
identify the importance of differences based on gender,
social class, sexuality and ethnicity in relation to youth
cultures. Students will be aware of the changing shape of
youth over time as well as the more recent literature in
relation to contemporary experiences and understandings
of youth culture. An awareness of the complexity of how
young people construct their identities in relation to
differing structural contexts will be gained.
One project of 3,500 words
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Module Name:
Gender, Citizenship
SPY00032H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Naomi Finch
Duration:
One term (Spring)
Students:
Third year undergraduates
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week
Aims and Objectives:

To introduce students to how social policies treat men
and women, and how this varies cross-nationally;

To help students develop a critical understanding of
the concepts underpinning the welfare state, and how
gender sits within these;

To help students develop a critical awareness of how
welfare state theories incorporate gender;

To introduce students to the extent that men and
women are treated differently in social protection, the
labour market and how this varies cross-nationally;

To highlight to students how care has been treated by
welfare states, and the implications of this;

To highlight to students the impact that welfare states
have upon gendered poverty outcomes.
Learning Outcomes:
Assessment:
and
the
Welfare
State
Subject content

Understand why cross-national research is useful
for understanding gender and its limitations

Have a critical understanding of the normative
concepts underpinning the welfare state

Have familiarity with the key theories concerning
welfare state models, specifically in relation to
gender

Understand the cross-national differences in policy
inputs and outcomes in relation to gender

Understand the part that welfare states play in
shaping gender differences
3,500 word essay
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Module Name:
Housing Policy
SPY00001H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Centre for Housing Policy (named convenor to be
confirmed)
Duration:
One term (Autumn)
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week
Rationale:
To provide students with an advanced knowledge of the
nature of British housing and contemporary housing policy
and law.
Aims and Objectives:
The module is designed to increase awareness of the
development of British housing policy during the 20th
century and to evaluate current issues, particularly
regarding the interface between social policy, law and
housing.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be aware of key issues in housing policy and
will be able to apply for professional training in housing
management.
Assessment:
One essay of 3,500 words
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Module Name:
Illicit Drug Use
SPY00012H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Sharon Grace
Duration:
One term (Spring)
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week
Rationale:
Illicit drug use is a key contemporary concern both for our
country and globally. Opinions about the dangers of illicit
drug use vary as widely as the drugs which are used - but
few are in doubt that the number of people using drugs
has increased hugely over the last twenty years and that it
is therefore, if for this reason alone, an issue that requires
detailed examination. Drugs are also of course always a
political ‘hot potato’ – particularly the link between drugs
and crime - and the laws and policies related to illicit drug
use are never without controversy. This course is designed
to provide students with a critical understanding of
contemporary drug misuse and its impact; treatment and
prevention services; and related international and national
laws and policies.
Aims and Objectives:
The course aims to provide students with:
• accurate information about the main illicit drugs and
their effects
• detailed knowledge of the legal and policy framework
relating to drug misuse
• a clear understanding of the reasons why individuals
might use illicit substances and the potential health and
social costs of that use
• an appreciation of the consequences of illicit drug use for
families and communities, and
• an awareness of the key medical and criminal justicerelated responses to drug problems.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the course, students who have attended the
lectures and undertaken complementary reading will be
able to:
• identify the risk of drug misuse amongst key social policy
groups;
• locate drug misuse with a broad social policy framework
that incorporates health, housing, the family, education,
un/employment, and crime;
• understand common theoretical perspectives used in
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explaining addiction, and
• critically evaluate contemporary policies and practice for
tackling drug problems.
Assessment:
One essay of 3,500 words
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Module Name:
Poverty and Inequality
SPY00036H
Credits:
20
Duration
One term (Autumn)
Timetable and Format:
3 hour weekly sessions
Aims and Objectives:
Preventing poverty, and the negative outcomes associated
with it is a key purpose of the welfare state. Yet, how to
define and measure poverty are hotly debated issues.
Definitions of poverty matter. They determine whether
individuals, households and particular groups have enough
income or material goods to a level for them to live in a
manner deemed fair and acceptable for the society in
which they live. Moreover, the definition adopted
determines appropriate policy responses to prevent and lift
people out of poverty. This module will enable students to
understand how to define poverty, the outcomes of
poverty, and the various ways measuring poverty including
both historical and contemporary measures. Students will
gains hands on experience in how the decisions made in
these respects impact upon the poverty rate across
different groups both in the UK and comparatively across
nations.
Learning Outcomes:
•
Understand how poverty and equality are defined
•
Understand how poverty and equality are
measured, and the value of different measures
•
Understand the methodological issues in
measuring
•
Understand the policy responses to difference
measures.
•
Introduce students to some key data sets for
exploring poverty and equality
Assessment:
Project 3,500 words
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Module Name:
Social Enterprise
SPY00033H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Rebecca Tunstall
Duration:
One term (Spring)
Timetable and Format:
3 hour weekly session
Module Aims:
The module aims to introduce students to the concept of
‘social enterprise’, and the role that it has played and may
play in future in the theory and practice of social policy in
the UK and elsewhere. By focussing on the business and
voluntary sector elements of the mixed economy of
welfare, the module provides an alternative perspective on
social policy theory and practice, which has tended to be
dominated by consideration of the state and its activities. It
allows students to focus on a sector which has a growing
role in social policy, and which policymakers in many
countries would like to see extended further.
The course content is as follows:
1) Introduction: What is social enterprise?
2) Theories and ideologies of social enterprise
3) Social enterprise and the voluntary sector
4) Social enterprise, business and the market
5) Social enterprise and social policy
6) The development of social enterprise
7) The size and shape of the social enterprise sector
8) Social enterprise people and organisations
9) The performance of social enterprises
Key questions raised throughout the course include: why
social enterprise has not played a larger role in many areas
of social policy, whether social enterprise offers distinctive
and distinctive valuable practice to some areas of social
policy, to what extent the reverse is true, and the potential
for social enterprise growth. Empirical material used in the
course will be drawn from the UK, other high income
countries and medium and low income countries.
Teaching methods include case study work and outside
speakers from the social enterprise sector. Students will be
required to integrate this material with more traditional
secondary sources, while exposing them to practical
dilemmas in social policy and to a sector which may
provide career opportunities.
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Learning Outcomes
Assessment:
Subject content

Understanding of concept of ‘social enterprise’, and
related terms such as ‘non-profit’, voluntary sector’,
third sector’, ‘civil society’, ‘non-governmental
organisation’, ‘co-operative’ and ‘ethical business’

Ability to apply these terms critically to organisations
and processes in social policy in the UK and elsewhere

Knowledge of data sources on social enterprise, and
knowledge about variation in prevalence, types and
impact of social enterprises over time, between service
areas and between countries

Critical awareness of theories developed to explain this
variation

Understanding about the potential and actual role that
social enterprises and related organisations play in the
provision of social services

Critical awareness of the arguments about the
distinctiveness of social enterprise as a means of
delivering social policy, and its strengths and
weaknesses
3,500 word essay
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Module Name:
Sustainable
SPY00017H
Development
&
Social
Inclusion
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Carolyn Snell
Duration:
One term (Spring)
Timetable and Format:
A three hour session each week, incorporating talks, videos,
seminars, debates, workshops and role play at different stages
in the module.
Rationale:
Human activity, at both an individual and social level,
changes the natural environment which in turn changes the
limitations on and potential for social development. There is
a clear case for considering the environmental factors that
can contribute to social disadvantage and for analysing the
distributional effects of policies designed for environmental
protection.
Aims and Objectives:
The module aims to increase awareness of the complex
relationships between many social and environmental
problems. It encourages students to think beyond the
traditional boundaries of social policy and to consider how
the environmental effects of human activities result in
changes that alter the extent to which others can meet their
needs, now and in the future.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the module students should be able to
explain why sustainable development has a valid place on the
social policy agenda and should be able to incorporate a
consideration of environmental impacts into their analysis of
social policy.
Assessment:
One 3,500 word essay
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Module Name:
Vulnerability,
SPY00039H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Kate Brown
Duration:
One term (Autumn)
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week
Aims and Objectives:



Learning Outcomes:




Assessment:
Deviance
and
Social
Control
To introduce ideas and theories related to social
control and the close relationship between ‘support’
and discipline in contemporary policy and practice
To explore the intensifying behavioural regulation of
‘problem’ groups in contemporary society and, in
particular, how this impacts of the lives of vulnerable
citizens
To facilitate a critical understanding of issues of
‘difference’ and power in relation to social control,
focussing on key social factors such as class, gender,
ethnicity and age.
Have an understanding of how behaviourist policy
agendas affect vulnerable individuals and groups
Understand contemporary behaviourist trends within a
broader historical context
Be in a position to analyse theories, policies and
practices related to social control
Be able to recognise and critique close links between
‘care’ and ‘control’ in contemporary systems of welfare
and discipline
One essay of 3,500 words
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Module Name:
Welfare State Futures
SPY00014H
Credits:
20
Module
Convenor:
Stefan Kühner
Duration
One term (Spring)
Timetable and
Format:
Three hours per week: lectures, seminars, discussions, videos and
presentations
Rationale:
This module is devoted to providing an overview over contemporary
debates about the alleged merits and failures of welfare states across
the globe. Rather than simply focussing on the British context, one
major aim will be to discuss these issues in a comparative and
international framework that goes beyond the high income countries of
the ‘West’. Thus, the specific circumstances in South-East Asian,
Eastern-European, Latin American and African nations will be
discussed alongside those in Northern America, Western-Europe and
the Antipodes.
Aims and
Objectives:
• To introduce the comparative and international approach to the
analysis of social policy
• To explore the origins of welfare states around the globe and the
rationale behind its introduction
• To introduce some of the key criticisms of contemporary welfare
states by pointing to processes of economic, demographic and societal
change as well as different ideological schools of thought
• To give an overview over the proposed policy solutions to help move
welfare states ‘out of crisis’
• To stress the range of possible future developments in social policy
making in different geographical regions
Learning
Outcomes:
By the end of this module students should have developed:
• An awareness of the merits and limitations of a comparative and
international approach to the study of social policies
• An appreciation of the vast range of policy goals and delivery
mechanisms in welfare states across the globe
• Familiarity with the key theories concerning welfare state
development and change
• Familiarity with some of the arguments to be found in the media and
academia about the ‘crisis of the welfare state’ and the possible solution
of this ‘crisis’
• An awareness of the vast range of proposed solutions of major
policy dilemmas within contemporary welfare states
• The ability to manipulate data provided in major comparative and
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international datasets used in welfare state research
Assessment:
One 3,500 word essay
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Module Name:
Welfare States in Crisis
SPY00035H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Kevin Farnsworth/Zoe Irving
Duration:
One term (Autumn)
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week
Aims and Objectives:
This module is designed to provide students with a critical
appreciation of contemporary debates about the impact of
the ongoing economic crisis on welfare states.
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of the module students should
be:
 familiar with key theoretical arguments about the
nature of the economic crisis that has unfolded
since 2008
 familiar with key social, economic and political
trends connected to the crisis
 be aware of key reform strategies adopted around
the OECD (and beyond)
 able to understand the different varieties of
response to the crisis that have been adopted by
governments across the OECD
Assessment:
One essay of 3,500 words
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Module Name:
The Well-Being of Children and Young People
SPY00020H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Christine Skinner
Duration:
One term (Spring)
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week
Rationale:
The course is designed to focus on outcomes. How can we
measure the well-being of children and young people?
How does well-being vary by income, age, gender,
ethnicity, family type? How does the well-being of children
and young people in the UK compare with other
countries?
Aims and Objectives:
The aim of the course is to introduce students to the main
sources of evidence on the well-being of children and
young people. It will begin with a discussion of the notion
of well-being. It will then critically review the main sources
of evidence on well-being covering: the demography of
childhood (where children live); poverty and social
exclusion; mortality and morbidity; the physical
environment; threats to children; risky behaviours; work
and caring; emotional well-being and mental illness and
disability; educational attainment; the well-being of looked
after children.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the option students will be able to:





Assessment:
Understand different ways in which well-being can
be understood.
Be familiar with the main sources of evidence on
well-being and their strengths and weaknesses.
Be familiar with comparative sources on the
subject.
Have a detailed competence in the evidence in at
least one domain of well-being.
Have presented a seminar paper on that subject.
One essay of 3,500 words
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Module Name:
Youth Justice
SPY00021H
Credits:
20
Module Convenor:
Kate Brown
Duration:
One term (Spring)
Timetable and Format:
Three hours per week
Rationale:
Young people who break the law have been the target of
specific government policy since the beginning of the
twentieth century. This module is designed to help
students understand why they are the focus of government
scrutiny and intervention, to explore what shapes society’s
response to them and to be able to evaluate how
effectively such policy is delivered.
Aims and Objectives:
The course aims to enable students:
• to understand the socially constructed nature of youth
and youth crime;
• to explore the relationship between welfare and justice;
• to know the history of youth crime legislation and
contemporary systems to deal with young offenders;
• to engage with contemporary debates about youth
offending in England and Wales.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module, students should be aware of the
history and development of youth justice services in
England and Wales, be familiar with current legislation and
the systems used to uphold it. They should have explored
the tensions generated by approaches that seek to deliver
welfare and justice for young people and be able to analyse
the political and moral forces that shape society’s approach
to young people who break the law.
Assessment:
One project of 3,500 words
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