一個社會中的人們，根據某種「屬性」或「標準」而區分為不同社會類別／等級的安排方式，即為「社會階層化」。用來區分社會階層的標準或屬性，每個社會不盡相同，大致上包括職業、性別、年齡、教育、族群、權力、地位等。社會階層化的研究其實就是在研究社會的不平等現象：社會學家並不將不平等現象當作隨機分配在個人身上，而是從群體的角度來看團體和團體間之不平等關係，此些不同的團體即為「社會階層」。在同一社會階層裡，團體的成員往往享有同等的或類似的社會資源；隸屬於不同階層的成員，具有不同的地位，此種不平等的地位常會對下一代產生影響。由於不同階層／階級的上下排列往往是彼此傾軋的結果，且仍將不斷持續進行當中，因此探討其分層的原因、機制、影響、過程等就十分重要。學者通常也稱之為「社會不平等」。
根據社會的不平等現象，政府往往會提出相互應對的政策，試圖解決這些社會問題。有鑑於社會問題幾乎都是鑲嵌在社會結構或脈絡演變而來，凸顯出問題的公共性與集體，因此社會政策正是影響公共福利的國家行動。社會政策為整體公共政策之一環，強調國家介入社會整體公共性或集體性的事務，而非個人小群體的私人層面。社會政策的範圍甚為廣泛，且可能隨著意識型態、政治、社會或經濟的變化而調整，尤其是為回應社會的訴求，必須經常增/修訂法規。
本課程將從社會不平等出發，特別重視貧窮/弱勢的議題，除了社會學傳統的社會階層理論，也引入相當重要且受到學界重視的「生命歷程理論」，同時兼顧個人、家庭、外在社會結構以及彼此之間的交互作用，藉以重新檢視貧窮/弱勢者的動態生命歷程，期能彌補過往研究在思考貧窮/弱勢問題時的侷限。也由於本課程引入素養導向教學模式，課堂進行時會藉由案例討論讓修課學生熟習及應用這些理論，以及具備相對應的知識、技能與態度。
The arrangement in which people in a society are divided into different social categories/levels based on certain "attributes" or "standards" is called "social stratification." The standards or attributes used to distinguish social classes are different in each society, and generally include occupation, gender, age, education, ethnicity, power, status, etc. The study of social stratification is actually a study of social inequality: sociologists do not treat inequality as randomly distributed among individuals, but look at groups and unequal relationships between groups from a group perspective. These different groups are called "social classes". In the same social class, members of the group often enjoy equal or similar social resources; members belonging to different classes have different statuses, and this unequal status often affects the next generation. Since the arrangement of different strata/classes is often the result of strife with each other and will continue to be ongoing, it is very important to explore the causes, mechanisms, impacts, processes, etc. of their stratification. Scholars also often call it "social inequality."
Based on social inequalities, governments often propose policies to respond to each other in an attempt to solve these social problems. Given that social problems are almost always embedded in social structures or contexts, highlighting the public and collective nature of the problem, social policy is a national action that affects public welfare. Social policy is part of the overall public policy, emphasizing the state's involvement in public or collective affairs of society as a whole, rather than the private aspects of individual small groups. The scope of social policy is very broad and may be adjusted with ideological, political, social or economic changes. In particular, regulations must be frequently added/revised in response to social demands.
This course will start from social inequality, paying special attention to the issue of poverty/disadvantage. In addition to the traditional social class theory of sociology, it also introduces the "life course theory" which is very important and valued by the academic community, taking into account the individual, family, and external society. structure and the interactions between them, so as to re-examine the dynamic life course of the poor/disadvantaged, hoping to make up for the limitations of previous research in thinking about poverty/disadvantaged issues. Also because this course introduces a literacy-oriented teaching model, case discussions will be used during class to enable students to become familiar with and apply these theories, and to acquire corresponding knowledge, skills and attitudes.
授課教師不要求各位同學買書，但各位同學必須仔細研讀授課教師所準備的PPT。PPT的內容是依據每週上課進度所編排，並且作為期中與期末考試的題庫來源。
The instructor does not require students to buy books, but students must carefully study the PPT prepared by the instructor. The content of PPT is arranged according to the weekly class progress and serves as a question bank source for midterm and final exams.
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| 期中考期中考 midterm exam |
20 | |
| 期末考期末考 final exam |
20 | |
| 上課出席與參與討論上課出席與參與討論 Attend classes and participate in discussions |
20 | |
| 繳交主題學習心得繳交主題學習心得 Submit topic learning experience |
40 |
