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SP20006: Poverty, social justice, and the state

[Page last updated: 01 August 2022]

Academic Year: 2022/23
Owning Department/School: Department of Social & Policy Sciences
Credits: 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 120
Level: Intermediate (FHEQ level 5)
Period:
Semester 1
Assessment Summary: CW 100%
Assessment Detail:
  • CW - 100% (CW 100%)
Supplementary Assessment:
SP20006 Coursework - Re-assessment only (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites:
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit the students will:
* Be familiar with theories of poverty and social justice and the broad range of principles around which policy debates have been structured.
* Be able to distinguish between different conceptualisations of social justice, need, equality and liberty, how they relate to different theoretical and political perspectives, and how they are used to defend or critique different forms of state intervention.
* Be able to analyse and evaluate current debates on poverty and social policy in relation to specific empirical examples.

Aims: The aims of the unit are to:
* Introduce students to theories of poverty and social justice.
* Explain a range of concepts and principles used to justify and/or critique the role of the state in poverty alleviation and social policy, and the political and theoretical contexts in which they were developed.
* Apply the concepts and principles to poverty, social 'problems', and policies designed to tackle them
* Explore and evaluate different theoretical and empirical arguments for and against different forms of state intervention.

Skills: Intellectual skills:
* Creative and analytical thinking.
* Communicating complex arguments.
* Evaluation of others' arguments and empirical evidence.
* Selecting and synthesising appropriate and relevant information from a wide range of sources.
Transferable/Key skills:
* Study & learning skills
* Basic Information and Computing Technology skills
* Inter-personal, team and group-working skills
* Revision and examination skills
* Time-management and organisational skills
* Presentation and verbal communication skills.

Content: Lectures will cover the core principles, including Poverty, Social Justice, Need, Equality, and Liberty; and apply principles to contemporary poverty and social policy debates, for example homelessness, equal opportunities legislation, access to Higher Education, and welfare reform.

Programme availability:

SP20006 is Compulsory on the following programmes:

Department of Social & Policy Sciences
  • UHSP-AFB14 : BSc(Hons) Applied Social Studies (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB16 : BSc(Hons) Social Policy (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB16 : BSc(Hons) Social Policy with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB10 : BSc(Hons) Sociology and Social Policy (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB10 : BSc(Hons) Sociology and Social Policy with Year long work placement (Year 2)

SP20006 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department of Social & Policy Sciences
  • UHSP-AFB14 : BSc(Hons) Applied Social Studies (Year 3)
  • UHSP-AFB22 : BSc(Hons) Criminology (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB22 : BSc(Hons) Criminology with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB05 : BSc(Hons) Social Sciences (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB05 : BSc(Hons) Social Sciences (Year 3)
  • UHSP-AKB05 : BSc(Hons) Social Sciences with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB05 : BSc(Hons) Social Sciences with Year long work placement (Year 4)
  • UHSP-AFB04 : BSc(Hons) Sociology (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB04 : BSc(Hons) Sociology (Year 3)
  • UHSP-AKB04 : BSc(Hons) Sociology with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB04 : BSc(Hons) Sociology with Year long work placement (Year 4)
  • UHSP-AFB10 : BSc(Hons) Sociology and Social Policy (Year 3)
  • UHSP-AKB10 : BSc(Hons) Sociology and Social Policy with Year long work placement (Year 4)

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2022/23 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2023/24 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2022/23.
  • Programmes and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.