The course aims to provide the conceptual and methodological foundations useful for analyzing European welfare systems and their social and economic underpinnings, along with their spatial variations. It also intends to offer an overview of transformations from the post-war period to the present, particularly outlining the characteristics of poverty and the future prospects of welfare in various policy areas.

General part

1. What welfare state is. Origins and definitions
2. Welfare during the Trente Glorieuses. Socio-economic foundations.
3. Welfare transformations: retrenchement and recalibration between new and old social risks
4. Policy areas: pensions, labour, health, education, assistance, housing
5. How target groups change: age, gender, origin, class
6. The Italian case in a comparative perspective, and its transformations: activation; social investment; financing the system; territorial inequalities; innovation problems

Single subject part

7. Poverty
8. The territorial dimension of social welfare policy

None

Knowledge and understanding: Through the study of the indicated texts, the student should understand the historical origins and forms of institutionalization of the welfare state in its main variations (models, policy areas), as well as the trends and most recent developments in transformation.

Applied knowledge and understanding: Through the study of the indicated texts, case studies, and examples presented in class or independently sourced, the student should master the fundamental elements of national and international welfare systems. This knowledge will enable them to situate their professional activities within the framework of the strengths and weaknesses of the welfare system in which they operate. Additionally, they should be able to critically analyze and propose measures that consider the most recent orientations in the field (e.g., social investment, participation).

Autonomy of judgment: Through the study of the indicated texts, case studies, and examples presented in class or independently sourced, the student should be able to make assessments about the characteristics of the main national and international welfare policies.

Communication skills: Through the study of the indicated texts and thematic insights, the student should master the specialized language of welfare studies.

Learning skills: Through the study of the indicated texts and the examination of the sources present therein and/or indicated in class, the student should be able to find updates on the characteristics of national and European welfare (statistical sources, regulatory sources, policy analysis).

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

In agreement with attending students and considering their specific interests, the following may be arranged:

• Supplementary seminars on topics relevant to the transformations of national welfare policies, their local implementation, and their analysis.
• Thematic workshops.

Teaching

Frontal lessons, in case complemented by seminars

Innovative teaching methods

Flipped classroom (thematic presentations by students)

Attendance

Attending actively a minimum of 75% of lesson hours.  Studying reference literature

Course books

To sit the exam, students must study four books - the two handbooks in section A; two books in section B:

Section A - Reference handbooks
Both of the following two:
a.1. Ranci, Costanzo e Pavolini, Emanuele (2024, in press), Le politiche di welfare. Seconda edizione, Il Mulino, Bologna 
a.2. Morlicchio, Enrica (2020) Sociologia della povertà, Il Mulino, Bologna

Section B - Focuses on welfare challenges
Two of the following:
b.1. Ciarini, Andrea (2020) Politiche di welfare e investimenti sociali, il Mulino, Bologna
b.2. Giorgi, Chiara (a cura di) (2022) Welfare, Carocci, Roma
b.3. Gori, Cristiano (a cura di) (2022) Le politiche del welfare sociale, Milano, Mondadori.
b.4. Greco, Maria Giovanna (a cura di) (2021) Contrasto alla povertà e rischio di esclusione sociale, Giappichelli, Torino
b.5. Oosterlynck, Stijn, Novy, Andreas, Kazepov, Yuri (eds.) (2020) Local social innovation to combat poverty and social exclusion, Policy Press, Bristol
b.6. Kazepov, Yuri, Cucca, Roberta, Barberis, Eduardo, Mocca, Elisabetta (eds.) (2022) Handbook of Urban Social Policy, Elgar, Cheltenham, (6 chapters, at student's choice))
b.7. Dubois, Vincent (2018) Il burocrate e il povero, Mimesis, Milano
b.8. Polizzi, Emanuele (2018) Costruire il welfare dal basso, Mimesis, Milano 
b.9. Gori, Cristiano (a cura di) Il reddito minimo in azione, Carocci, Roma
b.10. Pellegrino, Vincenza, Rodeschini, Giulia (a cura di) Il welfare pubblico partecipativo, FrancoAngeli, Milano
b.11. Sacchi, S. et al. (2023), Sostegno ai poveri : quale riforma?, EGEA, Milano. Free download here: https://www.torrossa.com/it/resources/an/5589989
b.12. Busacca, M. (2024) Sociologia del welfare, EGEA, Milano
b.13. Arlotti, M. (2024) Anziani, povertà e diseguaglianze sociali, il Mulino, Bologna
b.14. Bifulco, L., Dodaro, M. (2025) Quale welfare dopo la pandemia? ​​​​​​, Il Mulino, Bologna
b.15. An issue of your choice (preferably 1/2025) of the journal 'Politiche Sociali/Social Policies' published by il Mulino (the articles from the journal can be downloaded for free from the university network or via Uniurb library proxy)

Assessment

The assessment aims to verify the level of competence achieved, understood as the ability to coordinate knowledge and skills to address complex situations or novel problems. The exam can be conducted in two modes:

(a) Only for attending students: Presentation of a written paper, partially substituting the study texts. The paper should be approximately 12,000-14,000 characters long on current welfare topics, preferably from a comparative perspective, with an index agreed upon with the professor. The writing should involve the study and original reinterpretation of at least two texts, also agreed upon with the professor, which may be outside those recommended for the exam. The paper must be submitted at least 14 days before the exam date. The professor assigns a grade, which can be increased if the requested modifications are made. During the exam, the paper is discussed, and the student is examined on two texts of their choice from those included in the syllabus.

N.B.1: The paper will be subjected to plagiarism and AI software usage checks. Plagiarism is considered a serious violation of student duties.

N.B.2: Among the four texts contributing to the exam study (2 for the paper, 2 for the oral exam), at least one must be taken from area A.

The final grade will be determined by the ability to use and coherently connect the texts, the ability to anchor them to experiences and practices, and the quality of writing (correct structuring of a scientific text in terms of index, paragraphs, bibliographic references, text logic, and syntactic-grammatical correctness). The use of study materials in languages other than Italian is highly appreciated and contributes to the evaluation.

(b) For both attending and non-attending students: Oral exam. Through an oral interview, the student must demonstrate good mastery of the subject matter, the ability to apply the knowledge learned, develop ideas, and have good argumentative rhetoric. The interview will focus on the study texts chosen by the students, with links to practices, experiences, and current public debates. The final grade will be determined by the knowledge of the various exam texts and the ability to anchor them to real or potential experiences. In particular, the exam highly values (and it contributes to the evaluation):

• The ability to connect concepts, theories, approaches, and research in an organic and argued manner, without slavishly repeating the contents of the texts.
• Mastery of the disciplinary specialist language.
• Participation in research activities and the ability to connect experiences and expert knowledge.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Studying suggested literature

Attendance

Studying reference literature: it is possible to arrange an individualized programme

Course books

To allow students who do not attend classes to make up for what was covered during lectures through independent study, the following materials are provided, which cover the same content as the program to promote better understanding. 

A text of the student's choice from the following list (in addition to course books above):

a. Kazepov, Yuri, Carbone Domenico (2018), Che cos’è il welfare state, Carocci, Roma
b. Saraceno, Chiara, Morlicchio, Enrica, Benassi, David (2022), La povertà in Italia, Il Mulino, Bologna
c. Granaglia, Elena (2022), Uguaglianza di opportunità. Si, ma quale?, Laterza, Roma

Assessment

The assessment aims to verify the level of competence achieved, understood as the ability to coordinate knowledge and skills to address complex situations or novel problems. The exam can be conducted in two modes:

(a) Only for attending students: Presentation of a written paper, partially substituting the study texts. The paper should be approximately 12,000-14,000 characters long on current welfare topics, preferably from a comparative perspective, with an index agreed upon with the professor. The writing should involve the study and original reinterpretation of at least two texts, also agreed upon with the professor, which may be outside those recommended for the exam. The paper must be submitted at least 14 days before the exam date. The professor assigns a grade, which can be increased if the requested modifications are made. During the exam, the paper is discussed, and the student is examined on two texts of their choice from those included in the syllabus.

N.B.1: The paper will be subjected to plagiarism and AI software usage checks. Plagiarism is considered a serious violation of student duties.

N.B.2: Among the four texts contributing to the exam study (2 for the paper, 2 for the oral exam), at least one must be taken from area A.

The final grade will be determined by the ability to use and coherently connect the texts, the ability to anchor them to experiences and practices, and the quality of writing (correct structuring of a scientific text in terms of index, paragraphs, bibliographic references, text logic, and syntactic-grammatical correctness). The use of study materials in languages other than Italian is highly appreciated and contributes to the evaluation.

(b) For both attending and non-attending students: Oral exam. Through an oral interview, the student must demonstrate good mastery of the subject matter, the ability to apply the knowledge learned, develop ideas, and have good argumentative rhetoric. The interview will focus on the study texts chosen by the students, with links to practices, experiences, and current public debates. The final grade will be determined by the knowledge of the various exam texts and the ability to anchor them to real or potential experiences. In particular, the exam highly values (and it contributes to the evaluation):

• The ability to connect concepts, theories, approaches, and research in an organic and argued manner, without slavishly repeating the contents of the texts.
• Mastery of the disciplinary specialist language.
• Participation in research activities and the ability to connect experiences and expert knowledge.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Students can request to sit the final exam in English, French or Spanish with an alternative programme.

The professor is available to supervise students interested in completing their internship, either fully or partially, under his guidance. The topics on which the professor is available include:

• Local social policies
• Educational policies
• Forms, policies, and measures for the integration of immigrants and their families