Social Policy and Family in Focus

The course Social policy and Family in Focus is about social policy and family from a sociological perspective. The course consists of two modules, one focusing on social policy and one focusing on family and family life. The modules will run in parallel. During the first module, Social Policy in Focus, students are introduced to the social policy research area. The module provides an overview of dominant theories and empirical research on welfare states and social policy. Particular attention is paid to Swedish welfare and family policy. The emergence of and different characteristics of the "Swedish model" are analyzed in a comparative international perspective. The second module, Family in Focus, is about family - what it is and how it looks - a few decades into the 21st century. The module deals with the relationship between families and the social contexts within which it exists. Family from Swedish perspective is the starting point for a discussion of family from an international perspective, with a certain focus on North America and Europe. During the module, family are discussed in a broad sense, include different forms of  family. Considerable attention is given to investigate the relationship between family and social context. These are addressed through a number of themes, such as demographic trends, the labor market, paid and unpaid work, the importance of gender, and the organization of families' everyday lives.