Feminist Perspectives on Social Work Practice and Social Welfare Policy

Feminist Perspectives on Social Work Practice and Social Welfare Policy A. SEMINAR – PRESENTATIONS GOAL: During the latter part of the course, students will be required to demonstrate their ability to apply feminist ideas to social work practice. Students will work in groups of two. Each group will be assigned a chapter of the following book: Dobrowosky, A. (2009). Women and public policy in Canada: Neo-liberalism and after? Don Mills, ON, Oxford University Press. Develop a presentation on chapter (4- Social Cohesion and the Neo-liberal Welfare State) and the policy addressed by the author, which will include: a. Purpose, background and content of the chapter including women’s issues and main points/statistics discussed by the author(s) b. Define and describe the policy/policies, major values, and/or history discussed in the article c. As the book was written in 2009, students will do research to update any changes to the current women’s issues or the policy related to their chapter d. Discuss contemporary challenges in applying feminist thinking to the policy and practice in the human services e. What needs to be changed in the future (from a feminist perspective)? PROCEDURE: Seminar presentations must include the following: * Distribution of the power point presentation with a resource list relevant to the topic (readings, services, media resources etc.). B. FINAL INDIVIDUAL PAPER GOAL: The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your understanding of the feminist social work perspectives through the research and gender analysis of social policies that impact women in Manitoba or Canada and that was presented in your group seminar. PROCEDURE: Write a paper about the topic presented in class. Your paper will include: * Introduction of your paper on women and the social policy you analyzed. Then, tell the reader what to expect when they read the other sections of the paper. Next, provide the reader with a definition of the policy. Finish the section by a short conclusion of your paper (200 words) * Summary and research – a brief analysis on the chapter subject and a review of the literature on the topic (minimal 5 academic references) (1000 words) * Discussion of the connection between the policy and lives of women, how the policy affects individual women in different circumstances: how might this particular policy or practice affect people differently? Who will benefit? Who loses? How could these inequalities be mitigated? (1000 words) * Reflection: In addition to factual information reflect on this policy analysis and future application by answering the following questions: (500 words) * What new information did you learn? * How did the information affect you? * How will this information be useful to you in social work? * Conclusion: Conclude with a wrap up of your thoughts and any recommendations you would like to give concerning the future of the particular policy you analyzed (200 words) * References: Provide APA formatted references for all sources used in the paper