Understanding Citizens' Encounters with the Welfare State: Structures, Institutions and Actors (SIW4400)

There are no specific requirements for this course.

International exchange students select courses when applying for exchange.

Application deadline: 15 April.

The course covers theories on individual agency, social networks, structural and functionalist explanatory models, social reproduction and social change, social construction and interactional processes. The theories will be applied on current issues in welfare society and in social policies. 

In this course we acknowledges the diversity of experiences that people have in their encounters with social welfare. 

We address the importance of class, gender, ethnicity, age, disability and sexuality and the intersectionality of these factors for the distribution of life opportunities and resources. 

Current global challenges highlights the interdependencies between people and countries.  The complexity of globalization and sustainability are reflected on many levels of social life. 

In this course we discuss the impact of these challenges such as changing family structures and demographic aging, new ethnic diversity among households and care strategies, recognition of the needs and interests of persons with disabilities, lgbtq+ and religious minorities, as well as welfare systems and societies at large.  

The course will comprise a mix of lectures and active student involvement. Students will end the course with a paper and a presentation in which they discuss one of the theories covered in the curriculum. There will be a meeting set aside for student presentations.

For more information about this course, take a look at the course description (student.oslomet.no).

There is no semester fee for exchange students.

The assessment consists of an individual six hour school exam.