Social Policy Undergraduate and Postgraduate course brochure 2020-21 - Social Policy - LSE
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Social Policy Social Policy Undergraduate and Postgraduate course brochure 2020-21
Welcome
This guide is designed to provide you with information to assist you in You can find the online course guides and confirmation of your
your course selections. It will provide you with additional information as to programme regulations using the School Calendar:
the content of optional courses, along with details of assessment lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar
methods and teaching terms.
Details of teaching terms can be found using the online timetable, which
This information is intended as a guide only, is not exhaustive and is is updated for the next academic year during the preceding summer:
subject to change. The School’s online course guides should be consulted info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/timetables
for the most up to date information.
The number of courses required to be taken as a part of your programme
and the number of options you have available to you to choose at your
discretion are detailed in your relevant programme regulations.
2 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Undergraduate courses
COURSE COURSE TITLE UNIT TEACHING PAGE
CODE TERM
SP100 Understanding International Social and Public Policy 1 unit MT/LT 4
SP101 Foundations of Social Policy Research 1 unit MT/LT 4
SP110 Sociology and Social Policy 1 unit MT/LT 5
SP111 Social Economics and Policy 1 unit MT/LT 5
SP112 Politics of Social Policy Making 1 unit MT/LT 6
SP200 Comparative and International Social Policy 1 unit MT/LT 7
SP201 Research Methods for Social Policy 1 unit MT/LT 7
SP230 Education Policy 1 unit MT/LT 8
SP232 Health and Social Care Policy 1 unit MT/LT 8
SP335 Migration: Current Research, Critical Approaches 0.5 unit MT 9
SP374 Riots, Disorder and Urban Violence 0.5 unit LT 9
Undergraduate Academic and Professional Skills Development Programme 0 unit MT/LT 10
KEY
COURSE VALUE TEACHING TERM
■ 0 unit ■ 0.5 unit ■ 1 unit ■ Michaelmas Term (MT) ■ Lent Term (LT) ■ Both Michaelmas and Lent (MT/LT)
Undergraduate course convenors, see p26
Click here to view the undergraduate course guide online 3Undergraduate courses
Course Code SP100 Course Code SP101
Course Title U
nderstanding International Social Course Title Foundations of Social Policy Research
and Public Policy Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT
Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT Assessment Method Essay, Blog Post and In-Class quizzes
Assessment Method Essay and Take Home Assessment
This course is concerned with two questions that are essential
The course introduces students to the study and practice of to the study of social and public policy. First, how do we know
international social and public policy. It considers how societies what policies are needed, how they are experienced and whether
organise to address social needs, with reference to academic they are effective? And second, how is this knowledge used: how
and policy debates across the so-called global North and South. (if at all) does it feed into the policy process and improve policies
In the first half of the course (Michaelmas Term), we consider and outcomes?
key concepts and approaches relating to systems to address
SP101 aims to equip students to become informed consumers of
social needs. We examine the institutions and actors involved
research, able to read and evaluate research outputs that use a
in those systems in different contexts, including the roles and
range of approaches to address questions in social and public
relationships of the market, state, civil society and families. In the
policy. Students will be encouraged to think critically about the way
second half (Lent Term), we examine the interactions between
that knowledge is constructed, about the nature of expertise, and
inequalities and systems for addressing social needs, including
about the influence of values and positionality on knowledge
the agency of people in those processes.
production. They will learn to assess the validity of claims made on
the basis of research studies that use a variety of methods. The
course will also explore the way evidence is used in policy making
and in public discourse.
The course provides the foundations for students to become active
researchers themselves in later stages of the BSc ISPP degrees,
preparing them for the second year research methods course and
for their third year dissertation.
4 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Undergraduate courses summary
Course Code SP110 Course Code SP111
Course Title Sociology and Social Policy Course Title Social Economics and Policy
Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT
Assessment Method Exam and Essay Assessment Method Take Home Assessment
Why are women paid less than men? Does the neighbourhood This course provides an introduction to the economics of social
where you live matter for your life chances? Do we live in a policy. It analyses markets and their organisation – the roles of
meritocracy? Is it more important who you know or what you different institutions (private firms, non-profits, governments, and
know? How are ethnic inequalities perpetuated? This course takes families and individuals) in financing and providing the goods and
such questions that are central to our understanding of the world services that contribute to our well-being (“microeconomics”) – and
and how fair or unequal it is, and explores the sociological theories also the economy in aggregate (“macroeconomics”). We discuss
and research that have attempted to provide answers to them. real-world applications and consider the strengths and weaknesses
of using the approach of economics to analyse them. The course
We look at both classical and contemporary theoretical
mostly draws on evidence about rich countries, but the principles
perspectives and concepts such as those relating to class and
and analytical approaches can be applied more widely. The course
status, structure versus agency, gender and the division of labour,
considers whether specific national experiences are internationally
socialisation and intergenerational transmission, identity and
generalizable, including to low- or middle-income countries, though
belonging, urbanisation, discrimination, and social capital, and
these countries are not the focus.
debate how well they are supported by current evidence.
(continued)
The course provides ways of thinking about the social processes
(such as class or discrimination) underlying major social policy
concerns such as: inequalities in labour markets and education;
social segregation; housing and neighbourhood deprivation;
ethnic and racial inequalities; families and care, that will be the
subject of courses in subsequent years.
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 5Undergraduate courses summary
Course Code SP111 (continued) Course Code SP112
Course Title Politics of Social Policy Making
In the Michaelmas Term, we start with the basics of the economics
Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT
approach. Then we take a “life course” approach to topics: we
Assessment Method Coursework, Presentation
examine childcare and education through to old age, pensions and
social care taking in housing and health along the way. We also and Presentation Report
look at the long-run challenges from countering climate change. In
the Lent Term, we consider the distribution of household income The course introduces students to the way in which social and public
and then look at different factors contributing to it, such as policies are developed. It aims to provide tools to understand how
unemployment, earnings from the labour market, social security, policies are produced through political disagreement and negotiations
and taxation. We finish by considering the shape of the welfare and how policies reflect different needs and problems voiced by
state overall and related spending and financing issues. groups in societies. It focuses on the ways in which policy processes
and decision making can be analysed. The course focuses on
The course is taught without mathematics and is designed to be different models that are used in the analyses of policy processes in
suitable both for students with no prior knowledge of economics different international contexts. Furthermore, it links different analytical
and for those who have taken A level economics. approaches to policy processes with political considerations of how
political problems are framed and how policy goals are established.
The course looks at these issues from the perspective of different
actors and the ways in which different actors interact with each other
within policy processes. The course brings together critical analytical
frameworks for policy processes with empirical problems (cases).
The course enables students to understand that policy processes
are both about understanding society and shaping it. Furthermore, it
introduces students to the various policy actors, including international
actors and how these actors work together within socio-political and
economic constraints. It also highlights the importance of identifying
and understanding the different value positions and the associated
negotiations that underwrite policy processes.
6 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Undergraduate courses summary
Course Code SP200 Course Code SP201
Course Title Comparative and International Social Policy Course Title Research Methods for Social Policy
Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT
Assessment Method Take Home Assessment Assessment Method Essay
The course introduces the comparative method in social policy This course develops student knowledge of research methods by
research as well as the main analytical approaches to guiding them through a project involving the collection, analysis,
understanding social policy developments. It provides an and presentation of both quantitative and qualitative data.
overview of social policies in different areas of the world and
By the end of the course students should:
enables students to identify global pressures on national policy
environments. The course also examines the impact of key • Be familiar with the stages of the research process and different
international and supranational institutions on social policy- approaches to social policy research.
making. It investigates the welfare and work nexus from a
comparative perspective. • Appraise different methods and their appropriateness to
particular questions.
Comprising of four components, the course will cover Cross-
national methods and theories for investigating welfare states; • Be able to conduct and clearly present the results of basic
Social policies in developed and developing economies; analyses of quantitative and qualitative data.
Comparative perspectives on welfare and work and International • Be able to critically assess research studies and their use
and supranational social policies. of methods.
This course will draw upon teaching from the core first year • Understand the ethical issues involved in conducting research.
course SP100.
This course draws upon teaching from the core first year research
methods course (SP101).
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 7Undergraduate courses summary
Course Code SP230 Course Code SP232
Course Title Education Policy Course Title Health and Social Care Policy
Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT Value 1 Unit Teaching Term MT/LT
Assessment Method Take Home Assessment Assessment Method Take Home Assessment
This course provides an introduction to the main issues in The course equips students with the concepts, tools and
educational policy. It draws on interdisciplinary research literature knowledge to understand the challenges of health and social
and has a comparative and international focus. The course aims to care policy in the 21st century, in the differing contexts of the UK
show how major concepts used in social policy can be applied to and other rich countries, and in low- and middle-income countries.
the study of education, for example, equality of opportunity, equity In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, this feels more
and the distribution of resources. important than ever.
Issues to be addressed include: policy goals of education; In the first term, we consider the fundamental aims of health
historical development of education and the role of the state in and social care policy, including health and well-being, health
provision and funding; the impact of social characteristics on inequalities, health promotion, and health as a human right. We
educational outcomes (class, gender, ethnicity and race); then examine policy approaches and healthcare regimes across
education of children with special educational needs and different country contexts, including the strengths and weaknesses
disabilities; financing education; private schooling; privatisation of different models of healthcare financing, public and private.
and the changing role of the state; early years education;
In the second term, we move on to think about how to bring about
school-based education; post-compulsory education including
change – both change in people’s behaviour through regulation,
higher education; education systems in comparative perspective
“nudge” and incentives, and change in health and social care
and education regimes, decentralisation and devolution. Not all of
systems, including an examination of the role played by global
these issues are covered as separate weekly topics.
pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, and the potential for
The method of teaching on this course makes it more suitable for reform. We investigate the role that evaluations of health and social
third year students. This is a particularly popular course. You are care play in shaping policy change. Finally, we turn to specific
advised to apply early. groups and needs, including the challenges and potential of ageing,
long-term care, mental health policy, child protection and health.
8 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Undergraduate courses summary
Course Code SP335 Course Code SP374
Course Title Migration: Current research, critical approaches Course Title: Riots, Disorder and Urban Violence
Value 0.5 Unit Teaching Term MT Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT
Assessment Method Essay Assessment Method Essay
This interdisciplinary course addresses contemporary global This course focuses on urban or collective violence, or what more
migration issues with reference to both developing and developed colloquially tend to be referred to as “riots”. From Hong Kong
country contexts and to different patterns and forms of migration. and Santiago to the Gilets Jaunes in Paris and the uprisings in
The course examines the relationship between migration and America after the death of George Floyd, this is a subject of great
social and public policies, including the implications for how contemporary relevance. The course will consider the various
migrants and migration are conceptualised, for inequalities in the approaches that have been taken to this subject – via history,
movement of people, for welfare systems, and for the impacts psychology and sociology – and, focusing on particular examples,
of migration in countries of origin and destination. It draws on will examine some of the core issues in the field including:
current approaches to researching migration, and considers the the causes and consequences of riots; psychological versus
implications of those approaches. sociological explanations; the role of race/ethnicity; the impact of
traditional and new social media on the nature and organisation
This interdisciplinary course addresses contemporary global
of rioting; the role and changing nature of the policing of urban
migration issues with reference to both developing and developed
disorder; and how riots might be understood both historically
country contexts and to different patterns and forms of migration.
and comparatively.
The course examines the relationship between migration and
social and public policies, including the implications for how Assessment for this undergraduate course is via a research-
migrants and migration are conceptualised, for inequalities in the based essay. Each year students will be asked to focus on a
movement of people, for welfare systems, and for the impacts single aspect – chosen from a range of six or seven – of a
of migration in countries of origin and destination. It draws on selected riot. In 2020/2021 the focus will be on the 1992 “Rodney
current approaches to researching migration, and considers the King” riots in Los Angeles.
implications of those approaches.
This course is available to third year students only.
This course is available to third year undergraduates only.
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 9Undergraduate courses summary
Undergraduate Academic and Professional Skills Summer Internship Fund Scheme
Development Programme
The Social Policy Internship Fund Scheme provides first and
second year students with the opportunity to gain valuable
The Academic and Professional Skills Development Programme
work experience, learn new skills, enhance their employability,
is made up of a series of workshops, events and activities
and develop their professional network. Funding (based on the
designed to support our students with their academic studies
London Living Wage) is currently provided for a limited number of
and professional futures. The programme encourages students
internships within a UK registered charity or small to medium sized
to connect what they learn during their time at LSE with the
enterprise (SME) each year. This enables students to apply for
opportunities and requirements of the professional world.
funding for internships that would otherwise be unpaid. Internships
Workshops and Networking Events must be for 140 hours and take place between June and August.
Students source the internships themselves with support from
Academic skills workshops provide first year students with study LSE Careers. Further information on the scheme and application
skills training (eg, in notetaking, reading and writing) to support process is sent to students in the Lent Term.
them at the start of their academic careers and help them get the
most out of their courses and programme. These sessions are Alumni Mentoring Scheme
compulsory and timetabled under SP100.
The Alumni Mentoring Scheme gives second and third year
Professional skills workshops introduce students in all years to students an opportunity to apply to be matched with a mentor
the skills needed to support them to plan successfully for their to support them with the transition from university to the world
future careers and thrive after they leave LSE. These are non- of work/further education. Having a mentor gives students the
timetabled sessions which students are encouraged to attend. opportunity to: gain an insight into professional life; be supported
to take charge of their futures; and learn from someone who has
Networking events provide students in all years with the been in their shoes. Students can expect to have three forty-five-
opportunity to interact with our alumni students and develop minute meetings with their mentor. Any contact beyond this is at
their knowledge of the variety of industries they work in. They the mentor’s discretion. Mentors are Social Policy alumni students
include a brown bag seminar series and an evening networking working in a variety of professional areas. While we aim to match
event. These are non-timetabled sessions which students are students to mentors as closely as possible, we are not always able
encouraged to attend. to match students to mentors working in areas they aspire to work
in. Further information on the scheme and application process is
sent to students during the Michaelmas Term.
10 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 11
Postgraduate courses
COURSE COURSE TITLE UNIT TEACHING PAGE
CODE TERM
SP400 International Social and Public Policy 0.5 unit MT 14
SP401 Understanding Policy Research 0.5 unit MT 14
SP403 Academic and Professional Skills Development 0 unit MT/LT 15
SP410 Migration: Current Research, Critical Approaches 0.5 unit MT 15
SP411 Social Policy and Development 0.5 unit MT 16
SP412 Non-Governmental Organisations, Social Policy and Development 0.5 unit MT 16
SP413 Understanding Social (Dis)advantage 0.5 unit LT 17
SP414 Ethnicity, Race and Social Policy 0.5 unit MT 17
SP415 Urbanisation and Social Policy in the Global South 0.5 unit LT 18
SP419 Social Movements, Activism, Social Policy 0.5 unit LT 19
SP420 Understanding Policy Research (Advanced) 0.5 unit LT 19
SP430 Social Security Policies 0.5 unit LT 20
SP431 Population Analysis: Methods and Models 0.5 unit MT 20
KEY
COURSE VALUE TEACHING TERM
■ 0 unit ■ 0.5 unit ■ 1 unit ■ Michaelmas Term (MT) ■ Lent Term (LT) ■ Both Michaelmas and Lent (MT/LT)
Postgraduate course convenors, see p27
12 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21COURSE COURSE TITLE UNIT TEACHING PAGE
CODE TERM
SP432 Education Policy, Reform and Financing 0.5 unit LT 21
SP433 Rural Livelihoods, Development and Social Transformation 0.5 unit LT 21
SP434 Behavioural Public Policy 0.5 unit LT 22
SP441 Politics of Social Policy: Welfare and Work in Comparative Perspective 0.5 unit LT 22
SP470 Criminal Justice Policy 1 unit MT/LT 23
SP473 Policing, Security and Globalisation 0.5 unit MT 23
SP475 Riots, Disorder and Urban Violence 0.5 unit MT 24
SP476 Punishment and Penal Policy 0.5 unit MT 24
KEY
COURSE VALUE TEACHING TERM
■ 0 unit ■ 0.5 unit ■ 1 unit ■ Michaelmas Term (MT) ■ Lent Term (LT) ■ Both Michaelmas and Lent (MT/LT)
Postgraduate course convenors, see p27
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 13Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP400 Course Code SP401
Course Title International Social and Public Policy Course Title Understanding Policy Research
Value 0.5 Unit Teaching Term MT Value 0.5 Unit Teaching Term MT
Assessment Method Online Assessment Assessment Method Exam
This course engages with the social and public policy challenges This course aims to provide an understanding of issues
facing states and citizens across the world. associated with the research process, in the context of the MSc in
International Social & Public Policy. The course includes an
It introduces students to core issues, concepts, actors and debates
examination of philosophical issues underpinning research
shaping our understanding of social and public policy, its drivers
methods in social policy; the place of different research methods
and impacts. It outlines the questions raised by efforts to ensure
(qualitative and quantitative) in international social & public policy;
a healthy, educated and productive population, to protect those
the use of research; and the role of evidence in informing social &
without other means of support, and to reduce inequalities of eg,
public policy.
gender, class, and ethnicity. It discusses diverse policy approaches
to these issues, their ideological underpinnings, and the varying This is not a “how to” methods course. Instead, students will be
configurations of actors involved in the policy process – the state, equipped to become critical readers and users of research.
the market, civil society, the family, and international organisations. Students will gain an understanding of the role of research in the
policy process, and of the philosophical underpinnings of different
The course explores applications to a range of policy domains,
approaches to ISPP research, both quantitative and qualitative;
such as education, urbanisation, health, family, social care,
they will scrutinise which research designs are appropriate for
migration, inequality and redistribution, and to varied country
different kinds of policy investigation; and learn to critique the
contexts. The course is informed by an international and
validity of the implications for policy drawn by researchers, given
comparative approach that considers both rich and poor country
the methods they have used.
contexts and international dimensions and locates these within a
historical understanding of both national and global processes.
14 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP403 Course Code SP410
Course Title Academic and Professional Skills Development Course Title Migration: Current Research, Critical Approaches
Value 0 unit Teaching Term MT and LT Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term MT
Assessment Method This course is non-credit bearing, Assessment Method Essay
and there is no formal assessment.
This interdisciplinary course addresses contemporary global
This course supports students with their academic studies and migration issues with reference to both developing and developed
professional futures. The first part of the course focusses on country contexts, and to different patterns and forms of
academic skills to prepare students for the year ahead and enable migration. The course examines the relationship between
them to make the most out of their courses and programme. The migration and social and public policies, including the
second part of the course focusses on professional skills to implications for how migrants and migration are conceptualised,
support students with the transition from university to work. The for inequalities in the movement of people, for welfare systems,
course is designed to complement the expectations of Social and for the impacts of migration in countries of origin and
Policy students on their Programmes, and to help them articulate destination. Teaching across the course integrates critical
and develop their experience at LSE into useful resources for theoretical approaches to migration with applications using
gaining employment and thriving beyond LSE. All Social Policy MSc different migration-related research methods.
students are encouraged to take this course in addition to the credit
Course outline includes: Global migration trends and processes;
bearing courses which make up their degree. All students who
defining migrants and migration; citizenship, migration policies and
complete the course will receive a certificate of completion. The
the unequal movement of people; internal migration; gender and
course is also complimented by a series of non-timetabled
migration; researching migration; migration, transnationalism and
seminars delivered by alumni students working in a variety of social
welfare; migration and civil society; the impacts of migration; what
policy related careers. Throughout the course, students are
does migration mean for social and public policy.
encouraged to link the knowledge and skills they gain during their
time at LSE with the opportunities and requirements of a range of
careers in Social Policy.
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 15Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP411 Course Code SP412
Course Title Social Policy and Development Course Title Non-Governmental Organisations,
Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term MT Social Policy and Development
Assessment Method Exam Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term MT
Assessment Method Online Assessment
This course provides the analytical tools needed to understand
and critically evaluate the key practical challenges of social The course focuses on the specialised field of non-governmental
development. A wide range of development contexts will be organisations (NGOs) within the field of social policy and
discussed using empirical research and case studies. development, and considers theoretical and policy issues. Main
topics include the history and theory of NGOs; the changing policy
Key themes include: linking social policy theory, implementation
contexts in which NGOs operate; NGO service delivery and
and practice; making social protection effective; managing sector
advocacy roles
reform processes; projects and programmes, including design
and evaluation; participation and community development; in policy; NGO relationships with other institutional actors
gender analysis; the impact of corporate social responsibility and including government, donors and private sector; challenges of
social enterprises on poverty reduction. NGO effectiveness and accountability; NGO organisational growth
and change; and conceptual debates around civil society, social
SP411 is a compulsory course on the ISPP
capital, social movements and globalisation.
(Development) specialism.
SP412 is a compulsory course on the ISPP (NGOs) specialism.
16 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP413 Course Code SP414
Course Title Understanding Social (Dis)advantage Course Title Ethnicity, Race and Social Policy
Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT Value 0.5 Unit Teaching Term MT
Assessment Method Essay Assessment Method Essay
This course addresses the emergence, maintenance and This course will explore the boundaries of race and ethnicity in
dynamics of social advantage and disadvantage in different areas different countries, and will introduce students to key conceptual
of life across different social groups. It explores inequalities in issues which surround the study of ethnicity, race, and social policy. It
income, poverty & wealth, labour market position, family will also examine the tensions in approaches which privilege group
resources, education, crime, and life chances, with reference to rights and those which favour individual rights and how different
social groups defined according to their gender, ethnicity, as well nation states have adopted or rejected multicultural policies.
as citizenship and migration status, disability. It pays specific
The course will critically review patterns and explanations of ethnic
attention to intersectional, cumulative and relational processes in
inequalities in labour market experiences and education outcomes
the reproduction of inequalities.
and in relation to ethnic disproportionality in prison populations
around the world, exploring the various explanatory frameworks for
these persistent disparities.
Finally, the course will review the role of the state in responding to
ethnic inequality and legislative attempts to combat racial
inequality and discrimination and consider the place of minority
perspectives in improving policy formulation and service delivery.
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 17Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP415 Prospective students must be willing to commit themselves to
Course Title Urbanisation and Social Policy in the Global South full participation in all aspects of the course, including an element
of art. They will be required to read and discuss the essential
Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT readings for both the lectures and seminars each week. They are
Assessment Method Project and Essay also expected to read more widely and actively participate in the
seminars. This course seeks a weekly commitment from students
The course critically explores the challenges and opportunities to undertake a non-assessed activity: (i) My_City – a short
that urbanisation and urban transformations pose in the social, 500-750-word desk-based piece of research and writing that links
spatial, economic, institutional and political realms in the urban key issues emerging from the lecture to a city of their choice with
Global South. A plurality of theoretical and conceptual the view to meeting one of the pedagogical aims of this course,
perspectives informing contemporary policies and planning namely, linking theory with policy and practice. In addition to
practices are explored each week. Moodle, the course will use other online tools such as Padlet.
Some of the themes explored in the course are, urbanisation,
urbanism and social change, theories of urbanisation and urban
change, internal migration and the rural-urban interface, urban
poverty and livelihoods, urban labour markets and livelihoods,
urban housing and tenure, urban basic services, urban
governance, and urban social movements and collective action.
Cross-cutting themes such as gender and the role of civil society
are also explored.
18 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP419 Course Code SP420
Course Title Social Movements, Activism, Social Policy Course Title Understanding Policy Research (Advanced)
Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT
Assessment Method Exam Assessment Method Essay
The course begins by examining theories of social movements, The course begins by examining theories of social movements,
collective action, and contentious politics. It then moves on to collective action, and contentious politics. It then moves on to
examine how social movements engage with the policy process examine how social movements engage with the policy process
and the ways in which social movement activism informs social and the ways in which social movement activism informs social
policy formulation and implementation. It examines the nature, policy formulation and implementation. It examines the nature,
past and present roles of social movements and their potential past and present roles of social movements and their potential
capacity in shaping social policy in developed and developing capacity in shaping social policy in developed and developing
countries, and in democratic, hybrid, or authoritarian regimes. The countries, and in democratic, hybrid, or authoritarian regimes.
course covers theoretical arguments and examines empirical The course covers theoretical arguments and examines empirical
examples and case studies. examples and case studies.
The course examines the following topics: the role and impact of The course examines the following topics: the role and impact of
social movement activism in identifying and meeting needs; the social movement activism in identifying and meeting needs; the
role of grassroots mobilizations and solidarity; how movements are role of grassroots mobilizations and solidarity; how movements are
affected by regulatory frameworks; how and when movements affected by regulatory frameworks; how and when movements
achieve their objectives; movements relations with other actors achieve their objectives; movements relations with other actors
(including, NGOs, trade unions, political parties, etc.); populism. (including, NGOs, trade unions, political parties, etc.); populism.
The coure considers the development, transformation, autonomy, The coure considers the development, transformation, autonomy,
interdependence, and probity of social movements. It draws on interdependence, and probity of social movements. It draws on
examples of social movements in different periods, countries, and examples of social movements in different periods, countries, and
areas of activity to examine and analyse how change happens areas of activity to examine and analyse how change happens
and the obstacles to change. and the obstacles to change.
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 19Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP430 Course Code SP431
Course Title Social Security Policies Course Title Population Analysis: Methods and Models
Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term MT
Assessment Method Essay Assessment Method Exam
The course analyses the purposes, design and impact of This course provides an introduction to the key concepts and
social security policies, meaning policies that protect and methods required for population analysis. The course will explain
support household income at times when income from the labour the dynamics of population change and enable students to learn
market does not suffice. The need for social security arises both basic methods for measuring population structure and the
from demographic factors that affect nearly everyone during determinants of population size and change (fertility, mortality
their life course – childhood, parenthood, old age – and from risk and migration). The course will also provide an introduction to
factors that will end up affecting only some – unemployment, population projections and describe and evaluate how
low pay, disability. demographic data are collected and used. Emphasis is placed on
the understanding and interpretation of demographic data, as well
The course takes a comparative approach, examining differences
as methods of population analysis.
in the design of social security policies across welfare regimes
and drawing on examples from different countries. Students will Pre-requisites: Students should have basic numeracy, but the
develop an understanding of the challenges and trade-offs that course does not require advanced mathematical knowledge
arise in designing social security policies to meet multiple goals, Some practical sessions will involve use of Microsoft Excel. IT
will further their knowledge about the ways systems function in Training provides numerous self-paced student supervised
practice, and will develop the tools for assessing the structure and workshops on Excel and downloadable course guides. Students
effectiveness of social security in any given country. In 2020/21 we with limited experience of Excel are advised to attend one of
will also consider how well-placed social security systems were to these workshops before the course.
protect incomes in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, and we will
look at the range of additional provisions made by governments
across the globe.
20 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP432 Course Code SP433
Course Title Education Policy, Reform and Financing Course Title Rural Livelihoods, Development and
Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT Social Transformation
Assessment Method Online Assessment Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT
Assessment Method Essay
This course considers education policy, reform and financing
across a range of countries. It uses concepts and tools from a This course considers: Theories of rural development and
number of academic disciplines – social policy, sociology, transformation, history of rural development policy, changing
economics, politics and philosophy – to scrutinise education. rural livelihoods, land and agrarian reform, agricultural research
Throughout the course, there is particular focus on equity, social and extension, the roles of private and non-governmental actors,
justice and the distribution of resources. natural resource management, food security, climate change and
rural-urban linkages.
Issues to be addressed include: the impact of social
characteristics on educational outcomes (class, gender and race
and ethnicity, with a cross-cutting focus on special educational
needs and ideas of “inclusion”) and related policy reforms;
accountability and market-oriented reforms in education;
privatisation and the changing role of the state; power and the
politics of educational policy making; global policy transfer in
education; early years education; school-based education and
post-compulsory education; education systems in comparative
perspective. Not all of these issues are covered as separate
weekly topics.
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 21Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP434 Course Code SP441
Course Title Behavioural Public Policy Course Title Politics of Social Policy: Welfare and Work in
Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT Comparative Perspective
Assessment Method Project Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT
Assessment Method Essay
The application of behavioural economics and behavioural science to
public policy issues has been, and continues to be, a major theme in The course explores the politics of social policy in advanced
the policy discource internationally. This course offers students a political economies. In the first part of the course, the main
thorough grounding in the theory and findings that define behavioural analytical approaches for the cross-national analysis of welfare
economics, from the major violations of standard rational choice states are introduced (such as the industrialism thesis, the power
theory to prospect theory and the theories of human motivation. The resources model, new institutionalism, feminist theory and the
course goes on to consider the conceptual policy frameworks that globalisation thesis). These will be examined in the context of the
have been informed by behavioural economics, with examples – so- rise of modern welfare states and their transformations since the
called nudge, shove and budge policies – illustrated so as to highlight end of the “Golden Age” in the mid-1970s.
how these frameworks are applied in practice. Students will also be
These analyses and the theoretical approaches to cross-national
exposed to the different behavioural-informed schools of thought that
study of welfare states will be harnessed in the second part of
have prescribed divergent paths for public sector governance.
the course when the focus shifts towards more recent policy
developments since the 1990s. The empirical focus is on the
welfare-and-work nexus. The course analyses the development of
labour market and family policies in Nordic countries, Continental
Europe, Anglo-phone countries and East Asia.
22 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP470 Course Code SP473
Course Title Criminal Justice Policy Course Title Policing, Security and Globalisation
Value 1 unit Teaching Term MT/LT Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term MT
Assessment Method Exam and Essay Assessment Method Essay and Coursework
The course provides a detailed and critical introduction to the study The sub-discipline of police studies is now well-established
of criminal justice institutions, practices and participants. and is flourishing. Whilst much traditional policing scholarship
has focused on policing within particular societies, increasingly
It begins with an introduction to the nature of crime and
attention is being drawn to both international and comparative
contemporary criminal justice policy. It then examines the main
matters. Indeed, the social and economic changes associated
elements of modern criminal justice systems (police, courts,
with globalisation have affected policing as all else. This course
prisons, probation, the media, and private security).
will focus on transnational public and private policing, and on
Special emphasis is given to current issues such as restorative the issues and challenges raised by globalisation: from the
justice and increasing rates of incarceration. The course combines policing of emergent democracies, the problems of public order
up-to-date empirical work with theoretical perspectives and also and the policing of migration, to the questions raised by the
emphasises the role of historical and comparative perspectives in #BlackLivesMatter and the “defund the police” movements.
understanding current trends.
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 23Postgraduate courses summary
Course Code SP475 Course Code SP476
Course Title Riots, Disorder & Urban Violence Course Title Punishment and Penal Policy
Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term LT Value 0.5 unit Teaching Term MT
Assessment Method Essay and Presentation Assessment Method Essay
This course focuses on urban or collective violence, or what This course will explore punishment and penal policy from a
more colloquially tend to be referred to as “riots”. From Hong range of comparative perspectives. Focusing on Anglophone
Kong and Santiago to the Gilets Jaunes in Paris and the uprisings jurisdictions and the rest of the world in equal measure, the
in America after the death of George Floyd, this is a subject of course will consider in depth a wide variety of historical and
great contemporary relevance. The course will consider the international comparative studies of punishment and penal policy,
various approaches that have been taken to this subject – via both from the field of criminology and beyond.
history, psychology and sociology – and, focusing on particular
In so doing, the course will critically examine theoretical
examples, the course will examine some of the core issues in
frameworks and empirical research on such issues as: the
the field including: the causes of riots; psychological versus
forms state punishment has assumed over time and in different
sociological explanations; the role of race/ethnicity; the impact of
national and regional contexts; the array and relative significance
traditional and new social media on the nature and organisation
of the reasons why punishment and penal policy may develop,
of rioting; the role and changing nature of the policing of urban
qualitatively as well as quantitatively, in particular ways at
disorder; and how riots might be understood both historically and
given historical junctures and in different jurisdictions; the
comparatively. The primary means of assessment will be via a
relationship between political systems and punishment, with
research-based essay focusing on a single “riot”.
particular reference to processes of democratisation; the role of
punishment in society as explained through psychosocial theories
and research.
24 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21Undergraduate course convenors
Course Course Convenor Email Room
SP100 Understanding International and Public Policy Isabel Shutes i.h.shutes@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.58
SP101 Foundations of Social Policy Research Kitty Stewart k.j.stewart@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.36
SP110 Sociology and Social Policy Thomas Biegert t.biegert@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.54
SP111 Social Economics and Policy Stephen Jenkins s.jenkins@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.29
SP112 Politics of Social Policy Making Hakan Seckinelgin m.h.seckinelgin@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.27
SP200 Comparative and International Social Policy Timo Fleckenstein t.fleckenstein@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.60
SP201 Research Methods for Social Policy Amanda Sheely a.sheely@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.52
SP230 Education Policy Anne West a.west@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.30
SP232 Health and Social Care Policy Tania Burchardt t.burchardt@lse.ac.uk 32L.3.30
SP335 Migration: Current Research, Critical Approaches Isabel Shutes i.h.shutes@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.58
SP374 Riots, Disorder and Urban Violence Tim Newburn t.newburn@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.40A
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 25Postgraduate course convenors Course Course Convenor Email Room SP400 Foundations of International and Social Public Policy Sunil Kumar s.kumar@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.55 SP401 Understanding Policy Research Berkay Özcan b.ozcan@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.36 SP410 Migration: Current Research, Critical Approaches Lucinda Platt l.platt@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.25 SP411 Social Policy and Development Hakan Seckinelgin m.h.seckinelgin@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.27 SP412 NGOS in Social Policy and Development David Lewis d.lewis@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.40 SP413 Understanding Social (Dis)advantage Amanda Sheely a.sheely@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.52 SP414 Ethnicity, Race and Social Policy Coretta Phillips coretta.phillips@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.28 SP415 Urbanisation and Social Policy in the Global South Sunil Kumar s.kumar@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.55 SP419 Social Movements, Activism, Social Policy Hakan Seckinelgin m.h.seckinelgin@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.27 SP420 Understanding Policy Research (Advanced) Tania Burchardt t.burchardt@lse.ac.uk 32L.3.30 SP430 Social Security Policies Kitty Stewart k.j.stewart@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.36 SP431 Population Analysis: Methods and Models Michael Murphy m.murphy@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.61 SP432 Education Policy, Reform and Financing Anne West a.west@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.30 SP433 Rural Livelihoods, Development and Social Transformation David Lewis d.lewis@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.40 SP434 Behavioural Public Policy Adam Oliver a.j.oliver@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.33 SP441 The Politics of Social Policy Timo Fleckenstein t.fleckenstein@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.60 SP470 Criminal Justice Policy Tim Newburn t.newburn@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.60 SP473 Policing, Security and Globalisation Tim Newburn t.newburn@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.40A SP475 Riots, Disorder and Urban Violence Tim Newburn t.newburn@lse.ac.uk OLD 2.40A SP476 Punishment and Penal Policy Leo Cheliotis l.cheliotis@lse.ac.uk OLD.2.51 26 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21
Undergraduate Programme Team Department of Social Policy
London School of Economics
Email: Socialpolicy.ug@lse.ac.uk
and Political Science
Tel: 020 7 955 6001
2nd Floor, Old Building
Clare Gorman Houghton Street
Undergraduate Programme Manager London WC2A 2AE
Jake Watkins
Undergraduate Programme Administrator
Postgraduate Programme Team
Email: Socialpolicy.msc@lse.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7 955 6001
Craig Stewart
Teaching Operations Manager (Postgraduate)
Chris Kennedy
Postgraduate Programme Administrator
Charlie Tickle
Postgraduate Programme Administrator
lse.ac.uk/social-policy
@LSESocialPolicy
Social Policy course brochure 2020/21 2728 Social Policy course brochure 2020/21
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