SOCA/WOMS 290/490: Women in Poverty
SCHEDULE:
TOPICS; VISITING SCHOLARS;
READING ASSIGNMENTS; TESTS


Read and be prepared to discuss the chapters assigned below ON THE DATE SPECIFIED. The material presented in the readings are normally NOT repeated in class. Class time is spent expanding upon, clarifying, and discussing readings. To get the most out of class time, and to participate as expected, you must read the material IN ADVANCE.

CLASS: TOPIC
GUEST SCHOLAR
ASSIGNMENT


Jan. 22: "A History of Welfare"
Professor Linda Gordon, History, UW-Madison, specializes in women's history and has published a history of welfare titled Pitied But Not Entitled.
First Class

Jan 29: "An Overview of Women and Poverty Today"
Professor Anne Statham, UW-Women's Studies Consortium, is the Outreach Administrator for the UW Women's Studies Consortium and the statewide coordinator for the Women and Poverty Public Education Initiative.
G: Introduction; Ch.1

Feb. 5: "Poor Law, American Federalism and Welfare Reform"
Professor Robert Magill, Social Work, UW-Milwaukee, has done much research and community work on building capacity in distressed communities.
G: Ch. 2, 3
Paper/Research Assignment 1 due.

Feb. 12: "The Trajectory of Welfare Reform Nationally and in Wisconsin"
Professor Thomas Corbett, Social Work, UW-Madison, has advised state and national leaders on welfare reform and helped to formulate President Clinton's welfare reform proposal.
G: Ch. 4, 5

Feb. 19: "The Economics of Gender Differences"
Professor John Walker, Economics, UW-River Falls has done a great deal of teaching and research on the topic of disadvantage from the economics perspective.
G: Ch. 6, 7

Feb. 26: "Moving Out of Poverty: Changing the Stratification System"
Professor Mary Kay Schleiter, Sociology, UW-Parkside, has done a great deal of research, teaching, and community work on the issue of women's access to financial resources and is co-leading one of the more successful local groups of the Women and Poverty Public Education Initiative in Racine/Kenosha.
R: Ch. 1, 2, 3
Paper/Research Assignment 2 due.

Mar. 5: "Women's Position in Poverty as Socially Conditioned"
Professor Stacey Oliker, Sociology, UW-Milwaukee, has done extensive depth research with women living in poverty, how they manage their lives against the odds they face.
R: Ch. 4, 5, 6

Mar. 12: MIDTERM EXAM

Mar. 26:
R: Ch. 7, 8

Apr. 2: "The Psychology of Being Poor"
Professor Linda Reinhardt, Psychology, UWC-Rock County, has done research on individual and structural impediments to moving out of poverty, looking specifically at local job placement efforts.
G: Ch. 8, 9
Paper/Research Assignment 3 due

Apr. 9: "The Politics of Poverty"
Professor Davida Alperin, Political Science, UW-River Falls, has been both activist and now a scholar studying political action and is co-leading one of the more successful local groups of the Women and Poverty Public Education Initiative in River Falls.
R: 9; G: 10

Apr. 16: "Education as a Vehicle for Changing Poverty Status"
Professor Bets Reedy, Women's Studies, UW-La Crosse, Director of the Single Parent Self-Sufficiency Program at UW-La Crosse, has been quite successful in helping women living in poverty gain access to higher education.
R: 10

Apr. 23: "Older Women and Poverty"
Professor Helen Rosenberg, Sociology, UW-Parkside, has done much research on the problems faced by older women living in poverty.

Apr. 30: "Poverty, Women, and Social Action"
Professor Sandra Krajewski, Women's Studies, UW-La Crosse, has worked extensively in the areas of domestic violence and women coping with poverty. She is one of the co-founders of the Single Parent Self-Sufficiency Program at UW-La Crosse.
G: 11, 12

May 7: "Wrap-Up: The Issues We Face"
Professor Sarah Harder, Women's Studies, UW-Eau Claire, has done much work on issues of women's poverty and access to higher education, including leading AAUW in their "Shortchanging Girls" project.
Paper/Research Assignment 4 due

May 14 FINAL EXAM


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Questions, comments and suggestions should be directed to mary.schleiter@uwp.edu.
Last updated: 8:46 am, Tuesday, January 21, 1997

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