17265 - Social Policies

Learning outcomes

In the first place, this course intends to transmit the lexicon, concepts and basic definitions of social policies, introducing to the student the main interpretative models which studied the origin and evolution of different European welfare orders, with special reference to Italian welfare and its actual articulation.

In the second place, the course intends to socialize the student to the knowledge of main socio-economic processes, which in recent times fostered deep transformations of social needs and risks; and to favour the analysis of experiences of institutional and organizational “recalibration” in the  case of the Italian welfare system.

There is an amount of expected knowledge and abilities. First of all, it is expected that the student learns the lexicon and the specific terminology of social policies. Secondly, he/she is expected to know the main concepts and explanations referring to the main characterics of welfare state systems, becoming able to outline the basic elements of the Italian social policies system. Thirdly, it is expected that he/she learns to single out and analyze the principal social phenomena which originate the transformation of needs and of contemporary social policies, referring to the specific Italian context.

 

Course contents

The course proposes an in-depht itinerary, articulated as follows:

 

1)      The first part is intended to examine in-depht the processes which gave place to the beginning and consolidation of contemporary welfare systems. In particular, attention will be paid to the main ideas supporting the progressive consolidation of the modern social policies systems, intended to  protect citizens against life risks and against imbalances due to market regimes; and to institutional models historically experienced in European societies, analysing differences among these latters.

2)      Secondly, the course proposes an analysis of the implementation of specific measures in the main intervention areas (social security, health, social work and work), focussing in particular on the transformation of social needs in connection with the changes of family structures, of labor markets and of demographic dynamics; and on main policy responses.

3)      The third part of the course is devoted to research the meaning and scope of some recent transformations of the Italian welfare system, both at the social level and at the level of the organization of social policies. Attention will be paid in particular to intergenerational and gender changes, and to changes due to migrations. In conclusion, the course will examine the reform of Italian welfare, especially considering the emerging forms of governance and the partnership typologies centered on the integration between health care and social work.

Readings/Bibliography

The course is based on the study of the following texts, the knowledge of which will be tested during the exam:

Institutional part:

¨        Thomas Humphrey Marshall, Cittadinanza e classe sociale, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2002.

¨        Yuri Kazepov e Domenico Carbone, Che cos'è il welfare state, Carocci, Roma, 2007.

Other reading materials will be indicated

Monographic part:

¨        Giovanna Altieri, “Genere e generazioni. Cambiamento sociale, inerzie e potenzialità”, La rivista delle Politiche sociali, n. 3, 2007, pp. 197-213.

¨        Maurizio Ambrosini, “Importatori riluttanti: l'economia italiana e i lavoratori immigrati”, Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, n. 1, 2007, pp. 165-174.

¨        Lavinia Bifulco e Laura Centemeri, “La partecipazione nei Piani sociali di zona: geometrie variabili di governance locale”, Stato e mercato, n. 80, 2007, pp. 221-244.

¨        Paola Di Nicola, “Politiche di conciliazione e servizi per la primissima infanzia”, Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, n. 1, 2007, pp. 135-143.

¨        Manuela Stranges, “La lunga (e difficile) transizione allo stato adulto dei giovani italiani”, in Sociologia e Politiche sociali, n. 2, 2007, pp. 21-34.

¨        Rossana Torri, “Il rischio abitativo: riflessioni fra teoria e ricerca empirica”, La rivista delle Politiche sociali, n. 3, 2006, pp. 79-97.

N.B. During the lessons, attending students will have the possibility of agreeing with the teacher a specific in-depht work, to be presented as a written paper.

Teaching methods

The course will pay specific attention to concepts and definitions relating to social policies, so as to favour the knowledge of both the discipline and the code it uses in organizing its contents. During the lesson, multimedial instruments are to be used, along with statistic-descriptive materials (also in Internet) so that students learn to relate to data and empirical-documental materials.

N.B. : It is suggested to use specialized reviews (Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, Prospettive sociali e sanitarie, La Rivista delle politiche sociali, Sociologia e politiche sociali)  to enhance the knowledge of the relevant concepts and themes (the reviews can be found in Biblioteca centralizzata “R.Ruffilli” di Forlì and in biblioteca of Dipartimento di Sociologia).

Assessment methods

The exam will be oral.

The evaluation of a sufficient level of learning will rest upon the attainment of lexicon, concepts and main definitions of social policies, along with the capacity to recognise and interpret the dynamics and characterics of those social phenomena which produce main institutional and organizational transformations of actual social policies.

Teaching tools

Projector, overhead projector, PC

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Zurla