Sem 1

Course description: One of the major challenges confronting public policy in modern times is how to overcome overt and subtle discrimination in the art of governance, economic growth and development. Among the several pathways to the realisation of this goal, the pursuit of tolerance of social diversity and the eradication of exploitation of one group by others remains a major focus. Understanding the political and civil rights of different social classes, as well as their economic, social and cultural rights provide the basis for the course on Gender, Social Diversity, Equity and Public Policy. Students will be guided to understand the discourse on social difference, and how state and society have responded over time to the growing demands for inclusive growth and social justice in development. It is important for students to appreciate how evidence from reflective research is contributing to the unfolding paradigm shift towards embracing social diversity and equity with special reference to race, gender, ethnicity and disability, to name a few. The course highlights how policy instruments influence the process of income distribution across different social groups; how public policy can be used to address people’s freedoms across different social groups. In addition, it points out the kinds of social research that have evolved around the theme of public policy, and the pressure on social scientists to re-examine the norms of research practice. The trend is in favour of research methods that provide more disaggregated information and explanation on the situation of different social groups in society, with special reference to their relations with each other and implications for social justice. The ways in which life-course changes such as childhood, youth, motherhood, working life, ageing, disability, among others, are managed through various public policies will also be addressed. LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of the course students should be able to: • Demonstrate understanding of key concepts in diversity, equity, and social justice; • Analyse assumptions underlying principles and practices that affect equity and social justice across social groups. • Critically engage with analytic paradigms; • Adopt a more reflective approach to issues of social difference and equity; and, • Demand more from research design, analysis and reporting. 1. EXPLANATIONS OF SOCIAL DIFFERENCE AMONG SOCIAL GROUPS • Key paradigms of class analysis and social stratification from both evolutionary and conflict perspectives, • Political, economic, social, cultural and psychological perspectives and their significance on social relations over time, • Ways in which biological difference such as: sex, age, colour, and health have historically been exploited to serve the interests of authority holders. 2. INTERNATIONAL DISCOURSE ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE • Introduction to critical study of classical and contemporary theories of social diversity, inequality, equity and social justice; • Role of democratic ideals in achieving equity and justice; • International human rights discourse including global and African Union (AU) models. and Governance models in Africa – both democratic, traditional authority and authoritarian regimes. 3. POPULATION DYNAMICS AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR DIVERSITY AND WELLBEING • Demographic data bases on social groups; • Approaches to monitoring and evaluation of social differentiation through local and international periodic exercises; and • How demographic data has been used to influence public policy on well-being. 4. VULNERABILITY AND EXCLUSION (V&E) • Conditions of vulnerability and exclusion (V&E) and underlying causes; • Links between vulnerability, exclusion and poverty and the quest for pro-poor development policies; • Approaches to official recognition of vulnerability and exclusion in both formal and informal leadership practices; and, • How understanding of V&E has shaped social policy in different parts of the world. 5. GENDER, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE • Masculinity and femininity in development and the role of feminist discourse and men’s studies in explanations of inter-gender and intra-gender differences and their effects on well-being; • The use of policy instruments to achieve equitable outcomes and justice for disadvantaged or vulnerable women, girls, men and boys; and, • Ways in which qualitative and quantitative research contributes to the pursuit of equity. 6. EDUCATION ABOUT MULTICULTURALISM • Formal and informal education about multiculturalism for better understanding and management of social diversity; • Introduction to population movements, migration, immigration; • Political and economic refugee status; • Local, regional and international protocols on movement of people and goods; and, policies of exclusion and integration. 7. SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN PURSUIT OF EQUITY • Institutions of accountability including political rights (participation), regulatory standards, legal regimes and international law and their implementation; and, • Basic social services reporting and accountability structures, e.g. expenditure tracking. 8. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC POLICY MAKING • Analysis of active or direct participation; • Passive participation across different social groups in both rural and urban contexts; and, • Advocacy and lobbying in public policy to champion affirmative action and sustainable development agenda. 9. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHALLENGES TO INCLUSIVE POLICIES • The tension between cultural relativism and universalism in global perspectives on diversity, equity and social justice; and, • How cultural regimes protect or undermine different social groups such as women and children and how these are dealt with in policy and governance practices. 10. NEO-LIBERAL MARKETS VERSUS SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC MARKETS, AND FUNDING EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE • Public policy paradigms of market led provision of basic social services; and, • State involvement in provision of basic social services and their implications for equity. 11. LEGISLATION AND POLICIES ON FAIRNESS • The enabling environment for achieving fairness in development practice overall; • The framework for design, implementation and monitoring of fairness and justice in development and how social diversity is accommodated in this process; • Public policy and affirmative action; • Under-representation, affirmative action or positive discrimination in governance and resource distribution; and, • Application of public policy instruments to the adoption, design and implementation and monitoring of affirmative action to remedy discrimination. MODE OF DELIVERY: Lectures, discussions, local and international case studies, and group work. ASSESSMENT: Based on group presentations, individual course work, and a take home essay. The course works will contribute 50% of the final grade. Participation and attendance will contribute 10% to the final grade, individual course works and presentations will contribute 20%, Group work will contribute 20%, and you will write a take home essay for the final examination which will also contribute 50%. READINGS: Adjiboloso, S. 2006. Developing Civil Society: Social Order and the Human Factor, Hampshire and Burlington: Ashgate. Francesca B. and Verschagina, A. (Eds.) 2009. Frontiers in the Economics of Gender, New York: Routledge. Goodin, R. E. and Tilly, C. 2006. The Oxford Handbook of Contextual Political Analysis, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Howard, M.C and King, J.E. 2008. The Rise of Neoliberalism in Advanced Capitalist Economies. A Materialist Analysis, London and New York: Palgrave and Macmillan. Joseph, M. J. 2007. Civil Justice in the Age of Human Rights, Hampshire and Burlington: Ashgate. McKinley, M. 2007. Economic Globalization as Religious War, Tragic Convergence, London: Routledge. Simon, R. L. (ed.) 2002. The Blackwell Guide to Social and Political Philosophy, Malden and Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Sowell, T. 2004. Affirmative Action Around the World. An Empirical Study, New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Tornblom, K. and Vermut, S. R. 2007. Distributive and Procedural Justice. Research and Social Applications, Hampshire and Burlington: Ashgate.