SOWK 365 - Social Problems and Policy

This course enables students to understand how social problems are socially constructed, with attention to how these problems are defined, developed, and arbitrated. This course will also examine how social policies are created in response to those identified problems. Specifically, students will examine how structural and institutional barriers have influenced, and continue to influence, social welfare policy and practices. Students are introduced to the history of social welfare policies, ideologies, and values that influence policy decisions. Students will evaluate and analyze policies, develop practical advocacy skills in relation to human rights and social, economic, environmental, and restorative justice, and empower at-risk populations. Enrollment is restricted to continuing-studies students. Prerequisite(s): PSYC 151 or SOC 151; SOWK 220.