The Welfare State: An International History (Winter 2016)

Draft. See course Blackboard or syllabus distributed in class for official version.

HIST 799 – The Welfare State: An International History

Professor: Dr. Benjamin Bryce
Term: Winter 2016
Time: Wednesdays, 4:00-6:00
Location: ADM 3092
E-mail: ben.bryce@unbc.ca
Telephone: (250) 960-5759
Office: ADM 3092
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 13:30-14:20 and by appointment

Course Description: This MA course examines the rise of the welfare state in several national contexts in Europe and the Americas. Focusing on gender, social politics, and the transnational circulation of ideas, students will learn about broader themes of state formation and liberalism. Course topics include religion, ethnicity, class, health, and citizenship.

Learning Objectives:

1) A greater understanding of the welfare state, state formation, and gender history.
2) A greater understanding of global and transnational history and research methods.
3) A greater ability to critically discuss historiography.
4) Increased experience working with primary documents.

Readings:

  1. Skocpol, Theda. Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.
  2. Christie, Nancy. Engendering the State: Family, Work, and Welfare in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000.
  3. Fitzgerald, Maureen. Habits of Compassion: Irish Catholic Nuns and the Origins of New York’s Welfare System, 1830-1920. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
  4. Dickenson, Edward Ross. The Politics of German Child Welfare from the Empire to the Federal Republic. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1996.
  5. Hong, Young-Sun. Welfare, Modernity, and the Weimar State. Princeton University Press, 2014.
  6. Dutton, Paul V. Origins of the French Welfare State: The Struggle for Social Reform in France, 1914–1947. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  7. Smith, Timothy B. Creating the Welfare State in France, 1880-1940. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003.
  8. Gorsky, Martin. Mutualism and Health Care: British Hospital Contributory Schemes in the Twentieth Century. Manchester University Press, 2006.
  9. Haney, Lynne A. Inventing the Needy: Gender and the Politics of Welfare in Hungary. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
  10. Ehrick, Christine. Shield of the Weak: Feminism and the State in Uruguay, 1903-1933. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.
  11. Guy, Donna. Women Build the Welfare State: Performing Charity and Creating Rights in Argentina, 1880-1955. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2009.
  12. Katz, Michael B. The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. Updated edition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.

Evaluation:

  1. Participation, 25%
  2. Book review, due February 3, 10%
  3. Archival Description, due February 17, 15%
  4. Essay Proposal, due March 16, 20%
  5. Research essay, 15-20 pages, due April 20, 30%
  1. Participation. Discussion is an important part of graduate seminars. Students are expected to attend class every week and to actively participate in the discussion of the readings. Students will be required to read one book per week, and they should demonstrate a mastery of the readings and share critical thoughts about the arguments presented. Contributions to the discussion should be based on the readings.
  2. Book review. 800 words. Students will be asked to write a review of an academic book, following examples of other book reviews. The book should be loosely connected to the course themes. Students are advised to review a book published since 1995 and one that they will use in assignment 5. If students choose a book published after 2013, they can consult with Dr. Bryce about submitting a revised version of their review to an academic journal. Please submit this in class.
  3. Archival description. 800 words. Students are asked to locate and describe the contents of at least one archive or collection of published sources that could be used to carry out research on one of the course themes. This archive can be online or in a physical location. For a physical archive (located anywhere in the world), students will have to consult the archive’s finding aids. If the student wants to describe a specific source (such as the annual publication of a professional association), they should order some copies of the source through interlibrary loans in order to better describe the source. Please submit this in class.
  4. Bibliography and essay proposal. 200 words and ten titles. Students will have to select a topic for their research essay well in advance of the due date. For this short assignment, students are asked to write a 200-word paragraph that outlines the general thrust of their essay and that explains their research question. In addition, students are required to include a bibliography of at least ten scholarly articles, books, or chapters in an edited volume that they will use for their research essay. This bibliography does not require any annotation. Please submit this in class.
  5. Essay. 15-20 pages. Students will be asked to write a historiographic research essay. Students must identify and analyze a historiographic debate found in at least fourteen publications (books or articles). Outside research is required, and at least fourteen books or articles not assigned in this course must be examined. Students can also analyze the assigned course readings when appropriate, but this must be in addition to fourteen new publications. The topic is open but it must relate to one of the main themes of the course. A list of possible topics will be circulated in class, but students are free to pick their own topic after discussing it with Dr. Bryce. Please submit this assignment via e-mail as a PDF.

Course Structure:

January 13

  • Readings:
    • Skocpol, Theda. Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.

January 20

  • Readings:
    • Christie, Nancy. Engendering the State: Family, Work, and Welfare in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000.

January 27

  • Readings:
    • Fitzgerald, Maureen. Habits of Compassion: Irish Catholic Nuns and the Origins of New York’s Welfare System, 1830-1920. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2006.

February 3

  • Readings:
    • Dickenson, Edward Ross. The Politics of German Child Welfare from the Empire to the Federal Republic. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1996.

February 10 – Reading Week

No classes

February 17

  • Readings:
    • Hong, Young-Sun. Welfare, Modernity, and the Weimar State. Princeton University Press, 2014.

February 24

  • Readings:
    • Dutton, Paul V. Origins of the French Welfare State: The Struggle for Social Reform in France, 1914–1947. Cambridge University Press, 2002.

March 2

  • Readings:
    • Smith, Timothy B. Creating the Welfare State in France, 1880-1940. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003.

March 9

  • Readings:
    • Gorsky, Martin. Mutualism and Health Care: British Hospital Contributory Schemes in the Twentieth Century. Manchester University Press, 2006.

March 16

  • Readings:
    • Haney, Lynne A. Inventing the Needy: Gender and the Politics of Welfare in Hungary. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.

March 23

  • Readings:
    • Ehrick, Christine. Shield of the Weak: Feminism and the State in Uruguay, 1903-1933. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.

March 30

  • Readings:
    • Guy, Donna. Women Build the Welfare State: Performing Charity and Creating Rights in Argentina, 1880-1955. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2009.

April 6

  • Readings:
    • Katz, Michael B. The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. Updated edition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.