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Social Policy Issues

Post Baccalaureate Diploma

This program, for those with a bachelor’s degree, may be completed through a combination of courses offered through distance education, at the Burnaby and the downtown campuses. The program applies recent developments in social theory and research methods to the investigation of social programs and social policy issues. Courses examine substantive social policy issues. The program provides critical perspectives to understand processes by which social problems are defined, understood, and acted upon.

Acceptance of general ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV admission does not automatically guarantee program admission. Students must apply for entry directly to the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Program Requirements

Students must successfully complete an approved program comprised of 30 units of upper division courses. At least 16 are to be chosen from the set of core courses described below.

Core Courses

Students complete a total of 16 units, including

SA 340 - Social Issues and Social Policy Analysis (SA) (4)

An examination of how sociological and anthropological theories and methods can be applied to the examination of social problems and issues which become the object of social policy. A central concern of the course is the question of how social issues are defined as problematic. Particular attention will be given to gender, ethnicity, class and generation. Substantive examples of social policy issues will be selected from a number of fields. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Lindsey Freeman
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Mon, Wed, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Burnaby

and at least three of

SA 316 - Tourism and Social Policy (SA) (4)

An examination of tourism from the perspectives of sociology and anthropology, focusing primarily upon the social and cultural impacts of tourism and the social policy implications of tourism development in different societies. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201w.

SA 319 - Transnational Aging (A) (4)

Explores how mobility and migration across borders influence the lives of older people, with attention to how multigenerational transnational families mutually negotiate care and support. Political and socio-cultural factors will be examined through case studies from around the world in order to assess how we age in a transnational world. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Parin Dossa
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Tue, Thu, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Burnaby
SA 331 - Politics of the Family (S) (4)

A sociological examination of the contested nature of contemporary domestic and intimate relations. The course will focus on debates arising from equality movement politics (e.g. gender, sexuality, race). Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 335 - Gender Relations and Social Issues (S) (4)

A sociological study of the position of women and men in major social institutions in western industrial societies, in particular Canada. Social institutions that may be examined include: the family, education, the economy, the polity, law, and the mass media. Particular attention will be paid to social policy issues. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Students with credit for SA 292 (when offered as gender relations) or GSWS 308 (or WS 308) may not take SA 335 for further credit.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Deborah Dergousoff
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Wed, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
Surrey
SA 337 - Sexuality and Society (S) (4)

The categories that organize our understandings of sex, gender and sexuality have powerful histories and roles in organizing social relations in western society. Social activists and academics contest the naturalness of these categories, particularly that of the binary opposition between male and female, and related assumptions about sexuality and sexual orientation. This course encompasses a range of perspectives on sex/gender identity, sexuality, and the relationship between the two. These perspectives include feminist, lesbian and gay, and queer and transgender challenges to traditional understandings of sex/gender identity and sexuality. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 345 - Race, Immigration and the Canadian State (SA) (4)

An introduction to critical perspectives on the social construction of race, nation building and transnational migration, with an emphasis on state policies and the experiences of immigrants. The course will cover a review of colonialism and the construction of racialized labour market. Core topics may include: racialization of space, anti-racist feminist thought, immigration policy, settlement services, multiculturalism, citizenship, racial profiling, diasporas, and refugees. Comparative material will be used to complement the Canadian focus. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Section Day/Time Location
Distance Education
SA 363 - Process of Development and Underdevelopment (SA) (4)

An examination of sociological and anthropological theories of development and underdevelopment as applied to the Third World. The nature and consequences of world system linkages; colonialism and decolonization; patterns of social change in selected societies and regions. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 386 - The Ethnography of Politics (SA) (4)

An examination of the ways in which ethnographers seek to understand a world experiencing profound changes in the relationships between governments and the societies they govern. Topics to be considered may include: relations between indigenous peoples and governments; the social and cultural dynamics of public policy making; the articulation of human rights issues. The focus of the course will vary from semester to semester. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Pamela Stern
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Mon, Wed, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Burnaby
SA 418 - International Health: Global Policies and Local Realities (A) (4)

An investigation of the social, cultural, and political issues that contribute to problems of ill-health in resource-poor countries and the major efforts in international public health to address these problems. It explores the application of knowledge about social, and especially gender relations in international health, with particular attention to local perspectives and grassroots initiatives. Institutional frameworks intended to promote health development are examined in historical and contemporary perspective through case studies on topics such as: malaria, population control, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. Prerequisite: 90 credit hours, which must include SA 101 or 150. Highly recommended: SA 218, 302W and 318. Breadth-Social Sciences.

SA 420 - Sociology of Aging (S) (4)

The structural and behavioral implications of aging. Topics included will be: demographic aspects of aging; the relationship of aging to political, economic, familial and other social institutions; the psychological significance of aging. Prerequisite: 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or SA 201W, or acceptance into the diploma program in gerontology, or by consent of instructor. This course is identical to GERO 420 and students cannot take both courses for credit. Students may use GERO 420 to fulfil their major or minor requirements in lieu of SA 420.

Section Day/Time Location
Distance Education

Optional Courses

Students complete a total of 16 units, chosen from

CRIM 334 - Law and Human Reproduction (3)

Overview of theoretical perspectives and available research on debates linked with human reproduction. Reconsideration of the effects of legislation, social policy and social change on contraception, birth, abortion, adoption, eugenics policies, new reproductive technologies, sexualities, and other topics. Historical and contemporary examples will be used. Feminist perspectives will be featured along with other approaches to human reproduction. Students with credit for CRIM 416, 417, 418 under the title Law and Reproduction, or GSWS 334 (or WS 334), may not take this course for further credit.

or GSWS 334 - Law and Human Reproduction (3)

Overview of theoretical perspectives and available research on debates linked with human reproduction. Reconsideration of the effects of legislation, social policy and social change on contraception, birth, abortion, adoption, eugenics policies, new reproductive technologies, sexualities, and other topics. Historical and contemporary examples will be used. Feminist perspectives will be featured along with other approaches to human reproduction. Students with credit for CRIM 416, 417, 418 under the title Law and Reproduction, or CRIM 334, may not take this course for further credit.

LBST 301W - Labour Movements: Contemporary Issues and Images (3)

This course will give students a comprehensive understanding of the contemporary structure, issues, and perceptions of labour unions and other forms of working-class organization. It will focus on external and internal problems that the labour movement faces, such as labour law and state policy, employer strategies, bureaucracy, racism and sexism. The treatment of labour in the media and popular culture will provide an understanding of how labour is viewed in society, how labour views itself, and how working-class culture informs and is informed by the larger culture. Prerequisite: Strongly Recommended: LBST 101. Students with credit for LBST 301 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
John-Henry Harter
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
LBST 310 - The Politics of Labour in Canada (3)

The politics of the working class and union movement in the context of neoliberal economic and public policy, recurring economic crises, the changing nature of work, and declining membership. Central to the course will be the question of electoral politics and organized labour's relationship to political parties. Prerequisite: 30 units. Strongly Recommended: LBST 101.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
John-Henry Harter
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
POL 321 - The Canadian Federal System (4)

Development of the federal system including topics such as the division of powers, parties, federal-provincial relations and theories of federalism. Prerequisite: Six lower division units in political science or permission of the department.

POL 451 - Public Policy Analysis (4)

Examines the conceptual, philosophical and practical aspects of public policy analysis as it is conducted in government, universities, interest groups and policy research institutes. Specific attention is paid to the question of the role of policy research in the process of public policy making and the design of government programs and services. Prerequisite: Eight upper division units in political science or permission of the department. Quantitative.

SA 300 - Canadian Social Structure (S) (4)

An analysis of the social institutions and structure of Canadian society. The focus of the course will vary from semester to semester, but typically it will examine different theoretical approaches to the study of Canada and, from these, develop a framework for the analysis of Canadian social institutions and class structure. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 304 - Social Control (S) (4)

This course examines how the organization of control (formal and informal) affects both individuals and society. It will investigate how control takes form, how it functions, the ideologies supporting it, and the resistance it produces. We will ask the following questions: who are the agents of social control; who or what do they control; and how do they control? Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Kyle Willmott
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Mon, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
Burnaby
SA 318 - The Anthropology of Medicine (A) (4)

Explores the role of biomedicine in society and culture through inquiry into the social and ideological organization of health and healing. Special attention will be paid to how biomedical categories structure experiences of the body, how means of life and death are shaped through medical interventions, and how social relations organize the delivery of biomedical technologies. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 321 - Social Movements (S) (4)

A study of the sources, development and effects of social movements in transitional and modernized societies. Specific types of movements will be analysed. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 325 - Political Sociology (S) (4)

An examination of the relations of power and authority. This course will analyze the interrelations of family, church, class, interest groups, etc., particularly as they influence and are influenced by the state. The relations of law and ideology to the structures of government will form the context for this analysis. The course may also focus on broad theoretical questions of contemporary political interest. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Gary Teeple
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Tue, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Thu, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Burnaby
Burnaby
SA 332 - The Anthropology of Childhood (A) (4)

A cross-cultural examination of the social and cultural relations that shape childhood in different settings. Topics to be considered could include: the social definition of childhood and child rearing; the institutional arrangements established for children and youth and the impact that these have on children, families, and society; the social construction of child and youth cultures. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 201W.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Pamela Stern
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Mon, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Wed, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Burnaby
Burnaby
SA 362 - Society and the Changing Global Division of Labour (S) (4)

An examination of the social and political implications of the global economy. Topics to be considered include the influence of neo-liberal economics, the decline of the national welfare state, transnational political agencies and public policy, the internationalization of culture, the global labour market, the 'world city' hypothesis, ethnic resurgence and alternatives to these developments. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 364 - Urban Communities and Cultures (SA) (4)

Anthropological approaches to urbanization, the nature of the city as a social system, and urban cultures and lifestyles. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Students with credit for SA 464 may not take SA 364 for further credit.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Lindsey Freeman
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Tue, 5:30–9:20 p.m.
Vancouver
SA 371 - The Environment and Society (SA) (4)

An examination of environmental issues in their social context. Environmental issues are on the leading edge of contemporary public concern and public policy debates. This course will examine such issues as the relationship between social organization and mode of subsistence, the politics of hunger, and the way in which human societies in their particular social, historical, and cultural contexts view and interact with the natural world. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
Nicholas Scott
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Thu, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
Vancouver
SA 402 - The Practice of Anthropology (A) (4)

An examination of the ways in which anthropology and ethnography may be used to affect action in the world. Topics may include: advocacy anthropology; the development and practice of applied anthropology; the emergence of anthropology and ethnography and the arts. Prerequisite: minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Recommended: at least two upper division courses in anthropology.

To fulfil the optional course requirement, students may instead complete additional core courses, or upon the program steering committee’s recommendation, select a course not included among listed options, but with appropriate content.