Introduction to the course: Gender and Welfare Steven Saxonberg Professor of Sociology at Dpt. of Social Policy and Social Work at the MU Researcher at Dpt. of Government at Uppsala University in Sweden and guest professor in political sociology at Dalarna University Colelge in Sweden ssa@du.se Why Gender? • Everybody has a gender • Gender relations influence all aspects of our lives • It influences our relations to our parents, it influences our education, including pre-school or whether we will even attend pre-school (daycare) • It influences our careers (choice of jobs, ability to advance in our jobs) • It influences our retirement (when we will retire, who will take care of us, size of our pension) Why Social Policy? • Social Policies have great influence on gender relations • They influence who will take care of us • They influence whom we will take care of • They influence our possibilities to be mothers or fathers • They influence our choice to have children • They influence our ability to have careers and balance family life • They influence our relationships to our partners and our children • They influence the way we organize our life when living with our partner(s) and after separation • They influence our freedom of choice (what kind of lifestyle we can have) Which Policy Would You choose if….? • you want to promote traditional gender roles? • you want to increase fertility rates? • you want to promote Czech nationalism? • you want to promote gender equality? • you want to promote freedom of choice? • you want to promote economic efficiency? • you want to support children’s rights? Make up of the course • Credits • Seminars • Final Report Credits • Told to make it an 8 and 12 credit course, so confusion on the information Seminars and Reading • Normally you will be in 4 groups and make a presentation. • Each presentation will be 10 minutes. Then we will discuss it. • You will discuss one chapter from a book or one article. • Group 1 will present the first article/chapter, group 2 the second etc. (from the list in alphabetical order) • For books I will assign chapters • For the Esping-Andersen article, just come with questions you want to discuss • For the seminar on Western Europe/USA, your group should read all the relevant chapters/articles, but each member need read only one. More about the reading • The articles are short, but scientific, so still takes some time • Important training • Try to give as much as possible in Czech • Do not be afraid to ask questions at the seminars about things you do not understand More about the seminars • At your 10 minute presentation, spend about half the time summarizing one or two main points • You will not have time for more! • Spend the last 5 minutes discussing your reflections, such as things you disagree with or are uncertain about • End with some questions that you want us to discuss Importance of seminars • Half your grade will be seminars • This includes the presentations and discussions • If you miss a seminar, you must send me a written reflection about two articles or chapters. Write one page about each. • For each reflection, write you OWN thoughts NOT a summary!!!! The Final Presentation • present proposals for improving social policies in one field in the Czech Republic or another country • You can choose such areas as family policy, labor market policy, healthcare, caring for the elderly, etc. • Pretend you are presenting your proposal to the prime minister • The presentation should be about 15-20 minutes The Final Papers • Due one week after the presentation • So you have time to take into consideration some comments at the presentation. • Students are expected to use an internationally acceptable form of notes and references, but they can choose which system to use. • You RELIABLE SOURCES!!! Reliable Sources • Scientific, peer-reviewed articles and books are best • Official statistics from the governments or international organizations • Reports from respectable newspapers and magazines (LN – not blesk, etc.) • Not unreliable internet sources, such as wikipedia!!!! • The use of unreliable sources will lower your grade • Remember to have a reference for every fact or opinion that is not your own opinion!