Images from Kensington Welfare Rights Union website http://www.kwru.org/   and Pitied But Not Entitled bookcover

Women's Studies Program

Prof. Cynthia Deitch
Women's Studies Program  837 22nd St NW,  Room 204
Office hours:  Mon.. & Thur. 4-5:45 pm & by arrangement
Phone: 202-994-7438     email: deitch@gwu.edu
Online syllabus with live links and updates:  www.gwu.edu/~wstu/125/welfare.htm
 

Required Books -- ordered by GW bookstore

• Pitied But Not Entitled: Single Mothers and the History of Welfare  by Linda Gordon
• Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare (updated ed.) by Frances F. Piven & Richard Cloward
• Welfare Racism by Kenneth J. Neubeck and Noel A. Cazenave
•  Welfare's End  by Gwendolyn Mink
• Lost Ground: Welfare Reform, Poverty and Beyond ed. by Randy Albelda and Ann Whithorn
• Through My Own Eyes: Single Mothers and the Cultures of Poverty by Susan Holloway, et. al.

• Lone Mothers in European Welfare Regimes : Shifting Policy Logics  ed. by Jane Lewis
• The Globalized Woman by Christa Wichterich

Course Requirements and Grading

Weekly Schedule of Topics and Readings  (subject to minor changes during the semester)

Sept. 5    Introduction
                Video:  Welfare Warriors shown in class

Sept. 12    Pitied But Not Entitled: Single Mothers and the History of Welfare
                by Linda Gordon

Sept. 19    Regulating the Poor : The Functions of Public Welfare  (new edition)
                 by Frances F. Piven & Richard A. Cloward
                 Read Intro. & Ch. 1, skim 3-5, read Ch. 6-12

Everyone read:  at least an excerpt from The Negro Family:  The Case for National Action by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, 1965 -- known as "the Moynihan Report"  (Click here for excerpt).
Preferably, read the whole report here -- (go to whole report if you have trouble accessing the excerpt)

Student report on additional reading: The Other American by Michael Harrington (1962)

Report on additional reading: Losing Ground by Charles Murray (1984, 1994)

Oct. 3     Welfare's End  by Gwendolyn Mink
               Also look at the Women's Committee of 100 "Immodest Proposal"

Report on additional reading: Welfare as We Knew It by R. Kent Weaver (2000)

II.  Dimensions of women's poverty in the era of welfare reform

Oct. 10   Through My Own Eyes by Susan Holloway et. al.

• Highly recommended supplemental reading:   "Poverty Research and Policy for the Post-Welfare Era" by Alice O'Connor, Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 26 (2000) [on Prometheus]

Oct. 17    Impact of welfare reform on women's poverty
                Lost Ground, ed. by Albelda and Withorn -- selected chapters

Highly recommended supplemental reading:  "How Welfare Reform is Affecting Women's Work" by Mary Corcoran, et. al. Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 26 (2000)[Prometheus]

Report on additional reading: Saving Bernice: Battered Women, Welfare and Poverty  by Jody Raphael (2000)

Oct. 24   Welfare reform reauthorization in 2002

Policy documents to read will be posted on prometheus and/or distributed in class (under "joint files").  Comparisons of major House and Senate TANF reauthorization bills are on Prometheus.  Other readings TBA

III. Global and comparative perspectives on women and poverty

Oct. 31    Comparative Perspectives on Single mothers, poverty, and social welfare policies

Depending on availability, 1-2 chapters from Western Welfare in Decline: Globalization and Women's Poverty, ed. by Catherine Kingfisher (2002), plus Introduction and chapter on Sweden  from Lone Mothers in European Welfare Regimes: Shifting Policy Logics ed. by Jane Lewis, or article(s) posted on Prometheus.

Nov. 7     Women's poverty in poor countries: The impact of globalization
              The Globalized Woman by Christa Wichterich (if available),
                or alternative: readings posted on prometheus

IV.   Related topics:  presentations and discussion

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Written Work and other Assignments

I.  Short presentations on readings:  Each student will either give a short (5-6 min) summary of the book assigned for that week, provide questions for discussion and lead discussion, OR give a 10-12 minute presentation on the extra reading listed for that week.   Guidelines provided.
 

II.Short Paper  Due Oct. 24:  5-6 typed pages.  Additional guidelines may be distributed in class and posted on Prometheus.

   Choose ONE of the four options below:

1.  Critique a recent research report that evaluates some aspect of welfare reform..  Find a suitable report by reputable social scientists affiliated with a University or nationally recognized policy research institute.  There are many available online on the sites recommended on the class links page. Critically discuss the strengths and weaknesses, assumptions, research methods, interpretation, policy recommendations, and broader implications of the report, and how race and gender are (or are not) analyzed.  Use critical analytic tools you have developed through this and other courses. The report should be recent -- within the past year in most cases.  You may discuss and compare two reports if you feel there is not enough to say about just one. It is a good idea to pick a report on a topic that will be useful to you in your final paper and to check to make sure the report is appropriate for the assignment.

2. Write a critical review essay comparing three books read for this course.  These may include something extra you read for your short presentation as well as books that everyone read.

3.  Field observation option:  Spend at least 5 hours volunteering in some capacity in a setting where direct services of some type are provided to women in poverty.  In the paper, relate your observations to some of the readings and other material covered in class.

4. Research brief:  Using a sample "Research-in-brief" by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) distributed in class as a model, write a 5 page research brief summarizing recent research on your final paper topic for a non-academic policy audience.  IWPR is open to possibly publishing a revised versions of research briefs written by students in this course, depending on how well a given topic and paper fit with IWPR's work.

For all options, late papers risk a minor grade penalty (an A becomes an A-, etc.).

• Choose one of the following policy or issue areas closely related to or impacted by the 1996 U.S. welfare reform legislation:  child care, health care, immigration, housing, teen pregnancy, other reproductive rights issues, domestic violence, role of fathers, job training, education, welfare rights advocacy & organizing.
• Research and analyze how U.S. welfare reform affects this issue or policy, or how welfare reform is related to it.  The focus of the paper is either:  What has been the impact of  the 1996 welfare reform policy on _____ ?  or  What is the relationship between U.S. welfare reform policy and  _____ ? where  _____ is one of the issue areas listed above.
• You may  focus on national policy, or on a specific state or local policy or project.
• Papers that provide original data analysis are welcome.  I can help students access several of the large national data sets frequently used in welfare studies.

Compare U.S. welfare policy on social assistance to poor single mothers to national or international policies affecting women's poverty (and/or single mothers) in one or more other countries.

It is highly recommended that you restrict your topic to those nations or regions of the world which you have previously studied or for which you already have substantial knowledge.

Make certain that you will have access to adequate and appropriate sources before declaring which countries your paper will compare.

• Include some analysis of how the 2002 welfare reform reauthorization debates and proposals affect or relate to your topic.
• Include an analysis of race and gender in your paper.
• For topics not listed above, or for a different focus, be sure to get approval.
• Select your topic and announce it to the class (in class or by email) prior to the Oct. 10 class.
• On Oct. 10, I will assign topics to anyone who hasn't selected one.
• In most cases, you will not be permitted to change your general topic area, though you may refine your focus within a topic.
• Additional guidelines will be distributed in class and posted on prometheus.
• Suggested length 20 pages (25 max.).  Due Dec. 13.
• Grade penalty for late papers (A becomes A- etc.).  Written permission is required for an incomplete grade.

Panel Presentations
Each student will give a 10-15 minute presentation on her/his chosen topic with 3-5 students presenting in the same session as a panel.   The panelists for a session should coordinate to provide some connections among the speakers, assign readings, and lead discussion.  You might want to make your panel a mock Congressional hearing, policy briefing, press conference, community meeting, etc.  The goal is to have a coherent, connected, smooth running class session; to make it interesting for the class; and to avoid either a series of totally disconnected presentations or too much overlap among presentations.  Allow time for discussion.  Good planning is required to make the panels work.  Your panel should collectively decide on background readings for the class; announce and make available the readings at least a week in advance; and keep the total amount of reading under 50 pages.