Learning outcomes

The course’s aim is to enable the students to critically reflect the interrelationship of social policy, social ideas and gender. Focusing on contemporary developments, the structural influence on women’s and men’s individual choices is discussed concerning social ideas, society, employment and family in the field of social policy.

Students will be equipped with the skills necessary for advanced research and understanding relation between gender and social policy:
- The concept of gender
- Political ideas and their feminist critique
- Social Policy and gender
- Employment and gender
- Family and gender
- Intersectionality
- Feminism as social idea

Contents

The concept of gender is in transition. This course focuses on recent developments in Social Policy and the changes that occur on individual and societal level. First of all, the students develop a common understanding of the concept of gender and the contemporary debate on that concept. They focus on different streams of feminist ideas - Gender Rebellion Feminisms, Gender Reform Feminisms and Gender Resistance Feminism and their connection to political ideas.

Secondly, early feminist critique pf the patriarchal state and its repercussions for social policy is discussed. Earlier research concieved states as either contributing to the social reproduction of gender inequality or diminishing gender hierarchy. Contemporary research focuses on the diverse influence of social policy on gender issues.

Thirdly, the organization and structure of employment and care work are the principal issues in gendered social political analyses. Different theories are discussed explaining variations among women and between women and men. Different approaches to achieve gender equity are discussed. Intersectionality, as a new buzzword, provides for an approach of research in this part.

Finally, the focus shifts to feminism as a social idea and interrogates how it works in mainstream social policy and social policy research, whether it fosters or counteracts neo-liberal ideas of an adult worker society, emphasising an critical edge to the contemporary feminist debate in social policy.

Teaching methods

Teaching method	Contact	Online
Lectures

Teaching language

English

Evaluation and evaluation criteria

Numeric 1-5.
70% essays & 30% active participation Active participation: participation of the students in the discussions and during the intensive programme.

Study materials

Readings will be announced at the beginning of the course.

Belongs to following study modules