Social Policies and Citizenship

Recommended Prerequisites

NA

Teaching Methods

Teaching methodologies in class combines a general presentation of the theme made by the teacher, followed by a debate based on the presentation by students of previously selected and distributed literature. Students participation is encouraged as a condition for the development of their autonomy, of their analytical and communicational skills and of teamwork culture.

Students are also encouraged to develop skills in order to diversify the sources of social observation, using unconventional sources, like social networks, press observatories, blogs.

Learning Outcomes

This unit aims to provide a systematic and synthetic picture of the main issues addressed by sociology related to building and deepening social citizenship in contemporary societies; to debate the role of state and society in social protection (with particular emphasis on the Portuguese case, having into account the constraints and opportunities arising from globalization processes); to better understand the Europeanization and globalization of social policies, through the analysis of the processes generating social risk and poverty as well as the forms of supranational regulation of them; and to provide the theoretical tools necessary for a sociological approach to issues relevant to those who implement social policy programs.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Four main themes are proposed:
1. The State and the social question - to relate state social policies to the requirements of citizenship and the idea of a social pact; to review historical and political preconditions for welfare state (WS), the typology of its forms and the changing trends and future of WS.
2. Society's role in social protection - to characterize and evaluate the protective capacity either of its more institutionalized forms, or of social movements and its less institutionalized forms.
3. The European social policy - to characterize the "European social model" and its path of development and to analyze the vicissitudes of its construction.
4. Social policy in Portugal - to analyze public policies and private initiatives in the areas of health, education, social security and assistance, family, housing and employment, seeking to establish the relationship between public and private dynamics.

Head Lecturer(s)

Maria Madalena Santos Duarte

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Exam: 50.0%
Synthesis work: 50.0%

Bibliography

TURNER, B. (1993) “Contemporary Problems in the Theory of Citizenship”. In Bryan Turner (ed.) Citizenship and Social Theory. London: Sage
ESPING-ANDERSEN, G. (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Pres.
MISHRA, Ramesh (1995) O Estado-Providência na Sociedade Capitalista. Oeiras: Celta Editora.
SOUSA, Liliana et al. (2007) Famílias Pobres. Lisboa: Climepsi Editores
HESPANHA et al, B. (2000) Entre o Estado e o Mercado. Coimbra: Quarteto
SANTOS, B.S. (1995) “Sociedade-providência ou autoritarismo social?”. Re­vis­ta Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 42: i-vii.
GOUGH, I.; WOOD, G. (eds.) (2004) Insecurity and Welfare Regimes in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
FERRERA, Maurizio et al., O Futuro da Europa Social, Oeiras: Celta Editora, 2000.
SANTOS, Boaventura S. (1987) “O Estado, a Sociedade e as Políticas Sociais”. Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 23:13-74.