| CODE | SWP3644 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Foundations of Poverty and Social Exclusion | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Social Policy and Social Work | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit provides students with an introduction to the fields of poverty and social exclusion, which lie at the heart of social policy. It is intended to foster a critical awareness of trends and issues, conceptual and methodological issues, and of policy responses at national, European and global levels. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit provides students with the knowledge and skills to understand competing explanations of the causes and consequences of poverty and social exclusion, and the prevailing trends at national, European and global levels. It also aims to equip students with an understanding of measurement approaches in this field, together with the strengths and limitations of these approaches. The unit also enables students to identify various policy approaches to alleviating poverty and social exclusion. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Define and measure poverty, inequality and social exclusion; - Demonstrate an understanding through debate and assessment, of competing perspectives on poverty, inequality and wealth, social exclusion and social rights; - Develop a historical and geographical understanding of variations in poverty and social exclusion; - Identify people at risk of poverty, nationally and globally, demonstrating competence in access to and use of relevant statistics and indicators; - Interpret links between poverty and the lifecourse, demonstrating an understanding of the intergenerational transmission of poverty, the feminisation of poverty, disability and ethnicity; - Identify actions taken at national and European level to alleviate poverty, while understanding the impact of different sectoral policies upon poverty levels. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Express opinions on causes and consequences of poverty and social exclusion; - Examine patterns and relationships in the causes of poverty and social exclusion; - Interpret statistical information on poverty and social exclusion; - Critically analyse the effectiveness of social policy for the poorest in the context of the social division of welfare; - Conduct research and develop policies and plans for the reduction of poverty and to promote social inclusion. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main texts: Ridge, Tess and Wright, Sharon (eds) (2008). Understanding inequality, poverty and wealth. UK, Policy Press. Hills, J., Le Grand, J., Piachaud, D. (eds.) (2002). Understanding social exclusion. UK, Oxford. Lister, Ruth (2008). Poverty. UK, Polity Press. Supplementary texts: Dewilde, C. (2003). A lifecourse perspective on social exclusion and poverty. British Journal of Sociology, vol 43, no. 1, pp. 109-28. Ruspini, E. (1998). 'Women and poverty dynamics', Journal of European Social Policy, vol. 8 no. 4, pp. 291 - 316. Jefferson, Philip (1996). The Oxford handbook of the economics of poverty. UK, Oxford University Press. Dixon, John (1998). Poverty : a persistent global reality. UK, Routledge. Alcock, P. (1993). Understanding poverty. UK, Macmillan. Subramanian, S. (2001). Measurement of inequality and poverty. UK, Oxford University Press. Kane, Sharon (2003). Wealth, poverty and welfare. UK, Palgrave Macmillan. Crane, D. & Heaton, T. (eds). (2008). Handbook of families and poverty. UK, Sage. Jordan, Bill (1996). A theory of poverty and social exclusion. UK, Polity Press. Atkinson, A.B. (1989). Poverty and social security. UK, Harvester Wheatsheaf. Chant, S. (2007). Gender, generation and poverty. UK, Edward Elgar. Byrne, D. (2005). Social exclusion (2nd ed.) UK, Open University. Platt, L. (2005). Discovering child poverty. UK, Policy Press. Ginn, J. (2003). Gender, pensions and the lifecourse. UK, Policy Press. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Edgar Galea Curmi |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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