Welfare State in the Age of Retrenchment

Academic year 2013/14, winter semester

Extent of instruction: 1/1

ECTS (for students of FF UK): 3

Teachers

PhDr. Vilém Novotný, Ph.D. (Department of Public and Social Policy ISS UK FSV)

Official hours: Jinonice, room J3008, electronic application on http://terms.fsv.cuni.cz

PhDr. Martin Polášek, Ph.D. (Department of Political Science FF UK)

Official hours: Jinonice, room J4008, Wednesday 16:40-18:00

Communication of teachers with students: by the Moodle environment

Communication of students with teachers: by e-mail vnovotny@fsv.cuni.cz and martin.polasek@ff.cuni.cz

Extent and Form of the Instruction

The course takes place in blocks lecture/seminar (1/1) on Fridays (1.11., 15.11., 29.11., 13.12.) from 8:00 to 12:20 in room J3019.

Introductory lecture will be held on Friday October 4, 2013 from 11:00 to 12:20 in room J3019.

Nature and Purpose of the Course

The course is designed as the first introduction into still actual issues of the welfare state and focused on retrenchment discussion. It is based on the reading and critical analysis of essential contributions to this field of study. The texts are selected not only according to variety of theoretical perspectives, especially epistemic ones, but also according to diversity of methodological approaches in narrower sense (quantitative - qualitative etc.) which developed in this area.

Participants are supposed to study one or two circa 25 page English texts for each class. These texts are available to all participants in the Moodle application. At the beginning of every class, the studied text is introduced into its historical and theoretical context by teacher. This presentation is followed by critical interpretation held by one student. Afterwards general discussion takes place.

The aim of the course is not only to get participants acquainted with essential approaches to the welfare state theory, but also to enhance their knowledge and skills in areas of critical reading of the foreign texts, presentation of own opinion in academic discussion, linking theoretical findings and conceptualizations with current praxis and time-planning of the study.

Themes Outline (partial programme changes reserved)

Block 1

Modernization thesis (R. Titmuss)

Welfare state - critics I. (F. von Hayek)

Welfare state - critics II. Marxism and Neomarxism (C. Offe)

Block 2

Functionalism and industrialization thesis (H. Wilensky)

New institutionalism (P. Pierson)

Power resources theory (W. Korpi)

Block 3 and 4

Explaining of Retrenchment (Ch. Green-Pedersen, S. Kuipers, S. Stiller, P. Starke)

Assignments and Grading

The credits will be granted after fulfilling following conditions:

1) attendance min. 75%

2) own critical interpretation of chosen text (circa 20 min.)

3) conspectus (1-2 pages) of studied texts/approaches containing main ideas of the texts and their links to current praxis (will be used to warm up discussion)

4) active participation in discussion

List of the literature

All texts are available to students in the Moodle application.

For further reading are recommended following readers:

LEIBFRIED, Stephan, MAU, Steffen (eds.). 2008. Welfare States: Construction, Deconstruction, Reconstruction. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar (Elgar Reference Collection), 2008.

PIERSON, Christopher, CASTLES, Francis (eds.). 2000/2006. Welfare State Reader. Cambridge : Polity (1st Edition 2000, 2nd Edition 2006).

GOODIN, Robert, MITCHELL, Deborah (eds.) 2000. The Foundations of the Welfare State I.-III. 2000 Cheltenham : Edward Elgar (Elgar Reference Collection).

BARR, Nicholas (ed.) 2001. Economic Theory and the Welfare State I.-III. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar (Elgar Reference Collection)

Other literature can be recommended according to specific interest by teachers.