SOCI3051 Families and Social Policy

2016

4.5

1 x 2-hour seminar weekly

1 1 first year topic in American Studies
1a 1 first year topic in Development Studies
1b 1 first year topic in Asian Studies
1c 1 first year topic in History
1d 1 first year topic in International Relations
1e 1 first year topic in Political Studies
1f 1 first year topic in Sociology
1g 1 first year topic in Social Admin & Social Work
1h 1 first year topic in Women's Studies
2 EDUC1120 - Teaching and Educational Contexts
2a DRAM1002 - Drama 1B: Bodies of Work
2b SCME1001 - Media and Society
2c SCME1002 - Convergence Cultures
2d ENGL1101 - Approaches to Literature
2e JUSS1000 - An Introduction to Justice and Society
2f LEGL1101 - Australian Justice System
2g LEGL1102 - Contentious Justice Issues
2h CRIM1101 - Crime and Criminology
2i CRIM1102 - Criminal Justice System
2j PSYC1101 - Psychology 1A
2k PSYC1102 - Psychology 1B
2l DSRS1201 - Perspectives on Disability and Rehabilitation
2m DSRS1209 - Human Diversity
2n HLTH1003 - Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Care
2o ENVH1702 - Our Environment, Our Health
2p HLPE1541 - Social Determinants of Health
2q NURS1003 - Psychosocial Perspectives of Health Care
2r LEGL1201 - Law in Australian Society
Must Satisfy: (((1 or 1a or 1b or 1c or 1d or 1e or 1f or 1g or 1h)) or ((2 or 2a or 2b or 2c or 2d or 2e or 2f or 2g or 2h or 2i or 2j or 2k or 2l or 2m or 2n or 2o or 2p or 2q or 2r)))

Elective

We often experience our families as personal but they are also social entities. This topic focuses on the complex relationships between the personal and the social, with an emphasis on how people's lived experience of family life are shaped by policies that directly and indirectly impact upon the relationships, values, resources and practices that are recognised, supported and punished in contemporary Australia. Within this focus students are encouraged to think critically about the role of social structures and institutions in constraining and facilitating how people live in families.

This topic aims to:

1. introduce students to the diversity of Australian family structures and practices;
2. emphasise how lived experience of families is shaped by - and can also shape - social policy;
3. explore how social structures shape policy impacts on families;
4. examine families and policy primarily in an Australian context;
5. introduce students to international discourses and debates about social and policy issues pertaining to families, to highlight the similarities and divergences that exist across countries and cultures.

On successful completion of this topic students should be able to:

1. Use social scientific data to describe key patterns in the relationship between family structure and practices and policy;
2. Describe how social structures shape the impact of policies on families;
3. Identify key Australian policies that impact upon family structure and practices;
4. Compare contemporary Australian policy approaches with those in other developed countries, particularly the UK and the US.