Work – Public Policy - Social Problems

B.Sc. seminars

(in Polish) Pierwszeństwo dla uczestników modułu „Problemy społeczne i sprawy publiczne”

Przydatna co najmniej bierna znajomość języka angielskiego – w stopniu wystarczającym do przeczytania i zrozumienia tekstów w tym języku

The Bachelor seminar will be conducted in the framework of the "Social Problems & Public Affairs" module and will be devoted - firstly - to support the Bachelor thesis and preparation for the final BA exam. The substantive part of the course will be focused on discussions of texts and issues on Public Policy, sociology of social problems, sociology of work, sociology of labour market, industrial relations and issues related to the dynamics and problems in functioning of the welfare state.

The Bachelor seminar will be conducted in the framework of the educational module “Social problems and public affairs" and its main aim will be to support students in the process of writing Bachelor theses and preparing for the final BA exam. The participants will strengthen their knowledge and skills ) in the techniques of scientific writing, formulating topics, , structuring texts and completing references, etc. The primary goal of the course is that all the participants, working systematically (both individually and in class) and with the support of lecturers, will complete their theses and pass the BA diploma exam on time .

.. Apart from the direct support offered to the students in the process of writing BA theses, we anticipate reading texts and discussing issues from the field of public policy (including critical approaches), sociology of social problems, sociology of work, sociology of labour market, industrial relations and issues related to the dynamics and problems of institutions of the welfare state; an exact list of texts and issues will be agreed with the participants and tailored to their interests and topics of the their theses. We suggest, however, to reflect on: what phenomena, for what reasons and how are identified today as social problems in Polish society; what is the role of various public institutions and organizations in formulating responses to emerging problems; in particular, who (what institutions and organizations and what actors) has an actual impact on the creation and implementation of public policy; how to analyse adopted public policy solutions and what is the role of specific management instruments such as IT, indicators, categorizations, etc. in the implementation of those solutions? The areas of interest linked to the abovementioned questions include such phenomena as poverty (also in-work poverty), inequalities and social exclusion, unemployment and labour market problems, migrations for work, ‘junk” employment and its socio-economic consequences. We will look primarily at the activities of trade unions, non-governmental organizations representing the rights of specific groups (e.g. excluded persons), public administration and experts invited to co-create solutions in the field of public policy. The participants of the seminar will acquire the relevant sociological knowledge needed to analyse contemporary social problems and methods of solving them or managing them, used by the specialised agencies of public administration, as well as non-governmental organizations. Therefore, the subject of our interest will be both social problems and the dynamics of changes in the institutions of the contemporary state responsible for the management of the public sphere.

The list below has been proposed by lecturers. It may be revised in line with students preferences according to their interests.

Dunn E. „Prywatyzując Polskę. O bobofrutach, wielkim biznesie i restrukturyzacji pracy”, Wydawnictwo Krytyki Politycznej, Warszawa 2008

Gardawski J. (red.) „Polacy pracujący a kryzys fordyzmu”, Wydawnictwo Naukowe SCHOLAR, Warszawa 2009

Gardawski J., Gilejko L., Siewierski J., Towalski R. „Socjologia gospodarki”, Centrum Doradztwa i Informacji Difin Sp. z o.o., Warszawa 2008

Gilejko L. „Społeczeństwo a gospodarka. Socjologia ekonomiczna”, SGH, Warszawa 2005

Golinowska S. (red.) „Zmiany i reformy w systemie zabezpieczenia społecznego”, IPiSS, Warszawa 1999

Hardy J., „Nowy polski kapitalizm”, IW Książka i Prasa, Warszawa 2010

Hochschild A. R. „Zarządzanie emocjami. Komercjalizacja ludzkich uczuć”, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2009

Kozek W. „Rynek pracy. Perspektywa instytucjonalna”, Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2013

Kozek W., Kubisa J., Zieleńska M. „Utrzymać się na powierzchni. O walce z bieda w pięciu krajach europejskich, Scholar, Warszawa, 2017.

Kowalik T. „www.PolskaTransformacja.pl”, Warszawskie Wydawnictwo Literackie Muza SA, Warszawa 2009

Ost D. „Klęska „Solidarności”. Gniew i polityka w postkomunistycznej Europie”, MUZA SA, Warszawa 2009

Silver B. J. „Globalny proletariat. Ruchy pracownicze i globalizacja po 1870 r.”, IW Książka i Prasa, Warszawa 2009

Standing G. “Prekariat. Nowa niebezpieczna klasa”, PWN, Warszawa 2014;

Sztandar-Sztanderska K., Obywatel spotyka państwo, Scholar, Warszawa 2016;

Wedel, J. R., Shore, C., Feldman, G. & Lathrop, S. “Toward an Anthropology of Public Policy”, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2005, Vol. 600, s. 30-51.

Zalewski D. „Bezpieczeństwo czy niepewność dzięki różnorodności? Przypadek systemu zabezpieczenia emerytalnego”, Polityka Społeczna nr 5-6, IPiSS, Warszawa 2014

A student:

● Knows basic methods and techniques of social research and can choose appropriate methods to solve basic research problems

● Knows how to plan and carry out a simple quantitative and qualitative study

● Is aware of the consequences of choosing a particular theoretical perspective

● Can interpret past and present social events (political, cultural, and economic) using sociological concepts and theories

● Can use basic sociological terms and categories to analyze societies, particularly contemporary Polish society

● Can select proper research methods and techniques to conduct an analysis of a particular problem

● Can find, gather and synthesize information about social phenomena

● Can critically assess sources

● Can present results of his/her own research

The assessment criteria is based on the presence (two absences per one semester is possible), assessed on an ongoing activity, presentation at least one paper on the prepared text, writing at least one chapter of the Bachelor thesis and its adjustment in accordance with the recommendations of the lecturers.