Social structure, condition of welfare and social policy

The course covers and deals with the ways in which social structures create and maintain different and unequal living conditions for people, including welfare policies in various areas (e.g. labour market, social security, social services, and health care) and how welfare politics aims to reduce such differences. The course also covers the structure, organisation, duties and financing of the welfare state with a special focus on organisation at the municipal level.

The course also highlights the significance of social policy in a socioeconomic perspective and the consequences of the distribution of welfare for different groups of the population. The relations between the individual, the family, the market, and the state are considered in terms of the historical process of change and a comparison is made of those relations in different sociopolitical systems. Likely development tendencies as a result of global and demographic processes are discussed.

The social function of the legal system is introduced, as well as human rights and conventions. The course deals with the ways in which life conditions are affected by gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality, age and functional capability. Throughout the course, content is related to basic sociological, economic, and political science concepts and theories.

Instruction is in the form of lectures, group work, and mandatory seminars.

Progressive specialisation: G1N (has only upper‐secondary level entry requirements)

Education level: Undergraduate level

Selection:

Selection is usually based on your grade point average from upper secondary school or the number of credit points from previous university studies, or both.