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Detailed information |
Original study plan |
Master's programme Comparative Social Policy and Welfare 2024W |
Objectives |
The course conveys an understanding of the institutional characteristics and underlying political ideas that comparativists and especially comparative welfare state scholars associate with "Liberalism" as a characteristic of an institutional regime. This includes exploring the Liberal (welfare- and production-) regime as it exists in the Anglo-Saxon countries, as well as recognizing Liberalism as a multi-faceted ideology that can inspire a range of different institutional designs, as it were, "varieties of Liberalism". Upon successful completion of the class, students are able to
- … distinguish different strands of Liberalism as a political ideology and the broad range of institutional designs that liberal ideas can imply and inspire,
- … explain the political and socio-economic origins and consequences of liberal welfare state designs and liberal production regimes,
- … outline the institutional designs in specific policy fields or the organizational responses to various political or socio-economic challenges as they would emanate from liberal principles, and evaluate these types of institutionalization in terms of their impact on society,
- … discuss the validity of claims or fears about "liberalization", "neoliberal re-negotiation of social justice and wellbeing" or "erosion of liberal political and social institutions in western societies", as they are discussed both among political scientists and in public discussions about master trends of our time,
- … draw on the secondary literature, social science data sources and state-of-the-art IT tools such as generative AI in a responsible and ethically acceptable manner.
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Subject |
The class seeks to encourage critical reflection of not only the norms and institutions of welfare production in Liberal (welfare- and production-) regimes but also of the academic and popular perceptions of those norms and institutions. The politics of Liberalism and Residualism in social protection and production regimes will be explored on a theoretical level, by reading the classic statements about the liberal types in typologies such as Esping-Andersen's or Hall and Soskice's. This engagement with theoretical underpinnings also addresses the multi-faceted and highly resilient nature of Liberalism as a political ideology. The course examines the design and workings of liberal institutional designs a set of examples, country cases, or policy field case studies, in which the origins and repercussions of core features of Liberalism as institutional design principle can be observed. Here some (albeit not exclusive) focus of attention is on the system of welfare production in the United States, as this country is widely perceived as the paradigmatic case of the Liberal welfare regime. Examining historical lineages of Liberal welfare policy serves as a backdrop for analyses of current challenges and trends in the social protection systems of the countries under review. The class also addresses (Continental) European perceptions and evaluations of the „Liberal Model“. It interrogates different European stances vis-a-vis the promises and perils of Liberal welfare production, ranging from positions of admiration for the Liberal countries‘ flexibility and capacity to reinvent themselves, via dispassionate diagnoses of „Liberalisation“ as one of the master trends of our times, to positions that strongly reject Liberal norms and institutions in the social policy field and view the experience of the Anglo Saxon countries as a cautionary tale of the social dislocations under conditions of unrestrained capitalism.
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Criteria for evaluation |
Active participation during the Intensive Program and the interactive components of the long-distance phase of the class. Combination of a set of individual assignments or exams and tasks (such as research papers or presentations) to be accomplished in teams.
In the retake-option evaluation is based on a written or oral exam.
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Methods |
Introductory classroom sessions during the Intensive Program at the beginning of the semester, afterward a combination of individual studies of the relevant literature and interactive elements such as online meetings or teamwork.
The retake option consists of an independent study of a reading list provided by the instructor.
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Language |
English |
Study material |
Readings and Assignments are provided by the instructor.
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Changing subject? |
No |
Further information |
Students who have received a failing grade, or who wish to retake the course to improve their grade, must declare their intention to retake the course before the next semester so that a retake opportunity can be offered. They will then repeat the course through independent study, studying the literature independently from a specially prepared reading list, and demonstrating their competence in a written or oral examination at the end of the semester. The retake option is not a substitute for the regular course. It is only offered to students who have received a grade in the regular course.
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Earlier variants |
They also cover the requirements of the curriculum (from - to) 929NSWPLIBK14: KS The Liberal Welfare State (2014W-2020S)
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