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Learning Outcomes

TopThe course aims to help students to understand the history, features, and outcomes of social welfare systems in East Asia. Students will become familiar with the foremost challenges surrounding European welfare states and with analysing East Asian social policy in the context of international developments. A major objective is for students to acquire the ability to engage critically with debates about social welfare performance and prospects in East Asia. This involves choosing from a range of competing theoretical perspectives, marshalling evidence and empirical details for specific countries, and making concise and persuasive arguments through comparison.

Teaching Modes

TopEach seminar will consist of three segments:
(i) a lecture outlining the main ideas and contentions from the core readings
(ii) a discussion of selected further readings led by different students each week
(iii) a discussion of the seminar questions led by the instructor

Syllabus

TopI. East Asian social welfare: Origins, structure, and performance
1. The origins and structure of the East Asian welfare model
2. Developmentalism: Economic growth and political consolidation
3. Confucianism: Culture, family, and gender
4. Assessing East Asian welfare: Adequacy, equality, mobility, and sustainability

II. International context: The advanced welfare states
5. The multiple worlds of welfare capitalism: The social democratic and conservative regimes
6. The liberal and familialistic regimes
7. The end of welfare? Advanced welfare states in transition

III. Prospects for East Asian social welfare
8. Contest of ideas: Neo-liberalism and after
9. Going separate ways? Democratisation and welfare in East Asia
10. The pressures and constraints of ageing and globalisation

Assessment

TopThere is no exam for this course. Assessment is based on:
(i) Two response papers (20% each): Each paper should critique the arguments in a core or further reading of the student’s choice
(ii) Term paper (40%) : To assess, comparatively, the challenges and policy responses in any one or two social policy domains across two East Asian welfare systems
(iii) Individual class presentation (10%)
(iv) Class participation (10%)

Workload

Top3-0-0-3-4

Workload Components : A-B-C-D-E
A: no. of lecture hours per week
B: no. of tutorial hours per week
C: no. of lab hours per week
D: no. of hours for projects, assignments, fieldwork etc per week
E: no. of hours for preparatory work by a student per week