2020-21 Academic Catalog

Is health care coverage a right of citizenship, or a commodity purchased in the marketplace?  Where does the responsibility of caring for children and the elderly lie?  Nations around the world answer these and similar policy questions quite differently, resulting in wide-ranging consequences. Sociologists use the phrase “welfare state” to refer to the role the government plays in protecting and promoting citizens’ well being. By comparing the U.S. welfare state with that of other countries, we will examine the socio-cultural mechanisms that shape equality/inequality and investigate the impact of the welfare state on both social institutions and people’s life chances.