Development of the American Welfare State
GOVT 245
Spring 2012
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01
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What exactly is the American welfare state? What does it look like? Why do we have the policies that we do, and not others? In this course students will be divided into teams and assigned a city that they will study to find all the benefits available to a poor household in terms of housing assistance, income assistance, medical assistance, and nutrition assistance. In short, we will map out the current American welfare state, along the way seeing that it differs (sometimes dramatically) depending on where one lives. This course will also cover the history of how Americans have cared for themselves and others in times of need, starting in the colonial era and moving forward. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Information Literacy
Students will work in teams to conduct research on their assigned locality, and then will generate a significant research paper. The research will be conducted remotely, and by the end of this course, students will be armed with a wide array of social science research abilities for studying contemporary policies. This course also has a strong historical element to it. There will also be a visit to the Wesleyan Special Collections and Archives to see how to conduct archival work and how such research can be incorporated into social science analysis.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS GOVT |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (GOVT)(GOVT-American) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Jacob S. Hacker, THE GREAT RISK SHIFT: THE ASSAULT ON AMERICAN JOBS, FAMILIES, HEALTH CARE, AND RETIREMENT - AND HOW YOU CAN FIGHT BACK (Oxford, 2006)
Michael B. Katz, IN THE SHADOW OF THE POORHOUSE, 10th anniversary ed (Basic Book, 1996)
Plus Readings on Moodle
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two short papers, one long research paper, and in-class quizzes on the readings |
| Instructor(s): Glenn,Brian J. Times: .M.W... 02:40PM-04:00PM; Location: JUDD113; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 33 | | SR major: 9 | JR major: 8 | | |
| Seats Available: 3 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 6 | JR non-major: 5 | SO: 3 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 12 | 1st Ranked: 2 | 2nd Ranked: 2 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 6 |
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