SWK.116: Contemporary Social Problems

• Terms Taught: Full Year course.
• Also Available:
  • Michaelmas Term only.
  • Lent / Summer Terms only.
  • NOTE:  If you are studying with us for a Full Academic Year and you select a course that has full year and part year variants, you will not be allowed to take only part of the course.
• US Credits:
  • Full Year course - 10 Semester Credits
  • Michaelmas Term only - 4 Semester Credits
  • Lent / Summer Terms only - 6 Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits:
  • Full Year course - 20 ECTS Credits
  • Michaelmas Term only - 8 ECTS Credits
  • Lent / Summer Terms only - 12 ECTS Credits

Course Description

This course focuses on social problems, the various ways of understanding social problems, and policy reactions to them. We will consider historical concerns and theoretical debates as well as policy issues relating to contemporary social problems.

In particular the course will examine how social problems come to be defined as such;

• how contemporary social work and social policy are informed by the concerns of the past (and are constructed through different welfare ideologies);
• how social problems reflect and help reproduce economic and social inequalities;
• how various social problems and social policy interventions relate to social work.

Educational Aims

Students taking this course will gain knowledge of current issues in social work and social policy, understand their determinants and appreciate varying perspectives that seek to explain them.

Outline Syllabus

The syllabus for Contemporary Social Problems is divided into 11 sections. It is designed to introduce students to various ways of understanding social problems and interventions in them. It will introduce students to:

• Ways of conceptualising social problems
• Approaches to explaining social problems
• Historical understandings of contemporary social problems
• The ways in which various social problems are constructed and dealt with in contemporary society.

Outline syllabus

1. Introduction to social problems and social work
2. Developments in social policy and social work
3. Understanding social policy and social work
4. Material divisions
5. Social Diversity
6. Disability
7. Mental Distress and ill health
8. Childhood and families
9. Neglect, violence and abuse
10. Youth justice
11. Substance misuse and addictions

Assessment Proportions

• Essay(s): 60%
• Exam: 40%