Course Code: POLS 1050
Academic Year: 2025-2026
This course introduces learners to the ongoing struggles around social welfare in Canada. It examines the nature of political power, and the way that conflicting interests use it to challenge or defend social inequality. This struggle has deep historical roots, which the course will trace back to the early days of Canada's social welfare institutions. But past debates about whether to expand or limit social welfare rights are also very much in the news today. Students joining this course from many different career paths will consider those current debates through an interdisciplinary lens, and contemplate alternative approaches which involve more interprofessional collaboration. In the end we should be able to recognize our own political biases, and the ways that these might affect our professional lives.