Course credit
3 credit hours
Course description
Comparative study of social welfare (social insurance, public welfare, charity and philanthropy, social services, and mutual aid) in the United States and selected nations from five regions of the world.
Delivery
This course is available in a web-based format, utilizing web pages and WebCT, a computer conferencing program. WebCT requires Internet access and a web browser — no additional software is required. Students may need access to someone who can assist with computer set-up.
This course is available in a print-based format. Mail completed assignments to the GIS Office. We will forward them to the instructor for grading.
Prerequisites
none
Instructor
Katherine van Wormer, Professor
Katherine van Wormer grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana and received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina in 1966; a postgraduate degree in education from Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland; an M.A. in sociology from Western Kentucky University; and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Georgia (1976). In 1984, Dr. van Wormer returned to graduate school and obtained an MSSW from the University of Tennessee - Nashville.
Active in the civil rights and peace movements at home and in Northern Ireland, Katherine van Wormer continues to work for peace. Her academic work has been mostly in the area of women in prison and alcoholism treatment. For two and a half years, the instructor worked as an alcoholism counselor in Washington State and Ohio, and for two years as a program director at a treatment center north of Hamar, Norway.
Dr. van Wormer is the author of 12 books, including the text for this course. Some of her recent books are: Confronting Oppression, Restoring Justice: From Policy Analysis to Social Action (CSWE, 2004); Women and the Criminal Justice System (co-authored with C. Bartollas) (Allyn & Bacon, 2007); Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Micro Level and HBSE, Macro Level (Oxford University Press) (2007) and Addiction Treatment: A Strengths Perspective (co-authored with D.R. Davis) (Thomson/Brooks/Cole) (2008).
Evaluation
10 assignments, 2 exams
Overview
Social Welfare: A World View (450:041) is a liberal arts course. At the University of Northern Iowa it is included in the Social Science category in Group C. It is also the first course in the Social Work major. Students who plan to major in social work usually take this course in their freshman or sophomore year, although some students who have changed majors take this course in their junior year. This course is designed to fulfill the introduction to social work requirement at accredited departments of social work across the U.S.
This introductory social work and social welfare course provides basic understanding of how societies meet personal and social risks and provide for the welfare of their members. Basic concepts of social welfare, professional social work, social support, and related value issues are examined. The development of social welfare ideas and systems in Western society and in societies at different stages of development in diverse cultures are analyzed. Global perspectives and comparative national welfare systems are surveyed.
A basic premise of this course is that knowledge of other countries’ social welfare innovations helps us shape solutions to our mutual social problems in an increasingly interdependent world.
The progression of this course is from social values, global and local, to the provision of care and protection of people across the life span (from birth to death). The discussion centers on world policy issues including oppression, racism, and the environmental crisis throughout. The challenge facing social planners in today’s world is how to include the value of sustainability – preserving what we have for ourselves and for our children – along with the values of materialism and competition and progress. This challenge -- the need to sustain our resources, a major theme of the text that you will read in this course -- is the link among the introductory topics on cultural, economic, and social oppression, values, the middle sections on social welfare, and the conclusion, chapter 10, Care at the End of the Life Cycle.
Consistent with a social work perspective, the individual is viewed here holistically, as a being in constant interaction with the social and physical environment. The individual, however, is not necessarily the unit of attention: The point of intervention can be with the individual, the family, the group, or social institution. Unique among the helping professions, social work is concerned with public policy and with the influence of political, economic, and cultural forces in shaping social welfare policies. Personal problems and public issues are viewed in this course as intertwined.
Social Welfare: A World View provides a basic understanding of how societies meet the personal and social risks (for example: gender, child care, old age, death, illness, accidents, violence) of their members. The evolution of social welfare ideas and systems in the United States is presented in international and intercultural context. The cross-cultural and historical perspective reveals the possibilities in addressing the needs of people, possibilities very often circumscribed by the values of a given culture.
The terminology used in this course is interdisciplinary. For example, Assignment 1 explores the impact of globalization on the world of work and social welfare. And in the second reading on social values, for example, a psychology, sociology, social psychology, and anthropology of social values are presented. The third assignment draws knowledge from history, and so on.
Learning Objectives:
1. To identify the broad range of basic needs and social and personal risks (e.g., gender, old age, death, disability, illness, accidents, violence and war) that people share throughout the world.
2. To describe the purposes, function, and organized structure of activities of the social welfare institutions and understand its function in relation to other social institutions (family, education, corrections, religion, political, economic).
3. To compare philosophical stances or ideas reflected in different countries. Understand cross-cultural differences in values pertaining to treatment of women, minorities, gays and lesbians, and other vulnerable populations. Appreciate the relationship between social welfare provisions and the treatment of vulnerable populations.
4. To describe the development of social work in the United States within the context of the social welfare system and public policy.
5. To offer an ecosystems/empowerment framework for viewing the personal dimension within the social environment.
6. To explore the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and the strategies of change that advance social and economic justice.
7. To offer a focus on human rights, social and restorative justice as knowledge for social work practice within a global context.
Course organization
The course is divided into 10 assignments and 2 exams. Nine of the 10 assignments will consist of five short essays (occasionally none) each and one or two creative assignments. Each general question should be approximately two paragraphs each; creative assignments should be approximately one page. Please restate each question before answering it.
Written Assignment 10 is the writing of a term paper of your choice.
Boxes referred to are brief essays in the text. Reference to READING pertains to articles reprinted for this course (these articles may also be provided as web links in the course content).
I enjoy personal reactions and examples in your responses, so feel free to relate the question to the meaning it has for you. If you’re answering a question about AIDS, for example, and you lost someone to AIDS, you might share your experiences.
Exams
There will be two exams, the first covering the first five chapters, the second on the remaining five chapters and epilogue. These exams will be the essay and short answer format with matching questions. The second exam is not comprehensive.
Grading
Mid-Term 1/3
2nd Exam 1/3
10 Assignments 1/3
93 - 100 = A
90 - 92 = A-
87 - 89 = B+
83 - 86 = B
80 - 82 = B-
77 - 79 = C+
73 - 76 = C
70 - 72 = C-
67 - 69 = D+
63 - 66 = D
60 - 62 = D-
0 - 59 = F
Textbook(s)
Van Wormer, K. (2006). Introduction to Social Welfare and Social Work: The U.S. in Global Perspective. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Brooks/Cole.
Texts are available from the vendor of your choice or
University Book and Supply
1009 West 23rd Street, Cedar Falls, IA 50613
Phone: 319-266-7581 or 800-728-7581
Fax: 319-277-1266
E-mail: bookstore@panthersupply.com
To enroll
ONLINE
GIS enrollment information
IN PERSON
UNI Continuing Education
2637 Hudson Road (corner of 27th St. and Hudson Rd.)
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0223
Campus map (Look for Building 31)
For more information
Cindy Klodt, Guided Independent Study
UNI Continuing Education
319-273-2123 or 800-772-1746
ContinuingEd@uni.edu