This seminar covers particular aspects of individual and family well being, social participation, social equity and equality,responses to social trends, or other human conditions that may influence social work and social welfare. The seminar will consider the influences of diverse ideologies and values on conceptualizations of these conditions, operational definitions of the variables considered, an analysis of antecedents and consequences of the conditions, and implications for social work and social welfare of the above. Students will analyze how social units are affected by and respond to current or emerging social trends. Selected trends will provide the substantive theme, addressed with five foci: the trend's nature and antecedents, its consequences for particular social units, social problems/opportunities created by it, responses of various social units to those problems/opportunities, and implications for social work and social welfare in responding to the trend through innovative policies, programs, and treatment methods. Differential effects of the trend on subgroups such as minorities, women and the elderly will be of special interest. Topic selection criteria will include: timeliness, relevance to problems/opportunities of importance to social work/social welfare, and congruence with faculty scholarly work.
Economics is an essential language of social welfare policy and administration. To be successful, policy makers in areas such as public income transfers, health care and social service delivery, and economic development must understand fundamental principles of economic theory including markets, incentives, margins, supply and demand, and market failures. This course explores these issues and relates them to the work of social workers, social service managers, and social policy analysts. Partly in response to market failures, the U.S. economy is not a pure market economy. Rather, it is a “mixed” economy; a politically-determined blend of markets and public interventions meant to either support market activities or to correct problems that markets create (although these interventions sometimes end up aggravating problems or creating new problems). This course will prepare students to engage in normative and positive analyses of the role of the public and nonprofit sector in a mixed economy.
The course will be divided into two parts. In the first part students will learn the fundamental principles of microeconomics and apply this knowledge in a problem set. The second part will consist of an exploration of the application of these principles to areas of special interest to social workers, such as anti-poverty transfer programs, early childhood intervention, health care reform.
Other SW849 Offerings
The course listings below are provided for reference only. These offerings may be subject to changed of cancellation.
No other course offerings found this term.