Poverty, The Underclass and Public Policy II

SW847, Section 001

This seminar examines the nature and extent of poverty in the U.S. its causes and consequences, and the antipoverty effects of existing and proposed government programs and policies. The type of questions to be addressed include the following: What is poverty? Who is the underclass? Why is poverty so persistent? Why are poverty rates for minorities so high? What are the goals and purposes of social welfare programs? How did they grow and what did they accomplish during the War on Poverty and Great Society Era? How did the Reagen Administration change the nature of anti-poverty policy? What is the feminization of poverty? What are its causes and consequences? What will workfare programs accomplish? What are its interrelationships between poverty, family structure, labor market conditions and public policies? Is there a culture of poverty? Is poverty passed on from generation to generation? Social Work 846 familiarized students with the literature. Social Work 847 emphasizes the application of the students' research skills to this area of study.

This semester of the course is devoted to the preparation of dissertation proposals and research papers. Students will be provided with access to many of the same data used by the authors whose work is studied in Social Work 846. This will allow them to try to confirm or challenge or expand the literature. Students will make several written and oral presentations on their chosen research topic.