Human Services in the 21st Century: Care, Gender and Institutions
UndergraduateMAQ-SOCX3222019
Course information for 2019 intake View information for 2025 course intake
Uncover ways in which concepts of care can morph as society changes. Identify social attitudes to mental health, childcare, disability services and aged care. Support your studies with information from policy makers and health practitioners.
Enrolments for this course are closed, but you may have other options to start studying now. Book a consultation to learn more.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- -
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Human Services in the 21st Century: Care, Gender and Institutions
About this subject
At the completion of this subject students will be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of the different meanings attached to the concept of care, and of changing patterns in the need for care across the life course
- discuss some of the characteristics of care in intimate interpersonal relationships and in contexts involving the provision of care to strangers
- recognise the importance of sociological and other research in the development of human services
- analyse and respond to policy documents with the planning, provision, regulation and funding of human services
- demonstrate capability to use research and contribute to the development of policy in the field.
- Introduction: Care and Human Services
- Understanding care: Contested definitions and perspectives
- Formal and Informal Care? The substitutability of care
- Human Services as organisations: The value of Organisational Thoery Total Institutions
- Reinventing Human Services: Alternatives to Institutional Models of Care
- The Political Economy of Human Service Provision
- Working in the Human Services
- Care around the world: Care and welfare state regimes
- Care around the world: Care and welfare state regimes
- The Future of Human Services: Biotechnology and the Bioethics of Care
- Multiple Perspectives on Human Services in the 21st Century
This subject was previously known as SOCX322 Human Services: Organisations, Structures and Policy.
This subject is based on an exploration of the concept of care and its meaning in a range of different human service developments such as mental health, childcare, child protection, disability services and aged care. A starting point for these discussions is an examination of the ideas of care. We explore the links between informal supports, typically, although not exclusively, provided by women within families and households, and formal supports as provided by professional, trained and untrained staff, through organisations and other, often newly emergent, systems of support. Drawing together the fields of social theory and applied research, this subject provides an opportunity to examine responses to changing concepts of human need for interpersonal support. You will be able to learn from policy makers and practitioners working in this field, and enjoy opportunities to analyse state of the art studies of care and human services in Australia and other comparable countries
- Concept Paper (30%)
- Report (40%)
- Online Discussion (20%)
- Reading Summaries (10%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
This research-intensive university in north-western Sydney offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. With over 44,000 current students, Macquarie has a strong reputation for welcoming international students and embracing flexible and convenient study options, including its partnership with Open Universities Australia.
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- 11
- Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:
- 10
Entry requirements
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
MAQ-SGY310 (Not currently available)
Others
You must complete Level 1 and 2 studies in Sociology before starting this subject.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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