![A 2018 photograph of US Congress. A large semi-circle room filled with politicians.](/history/sites/default/files/styles/hero/public/img/course/HIST253_Smith.jpg?itok=F7a9xjGN)
An introduction to the history of social welfare and public policy in Western Europe and North America. Topics include health care and public assistance; employment, pension and education policy; economic and urban planning. A major theme of the course is the emergence and development of civil, political, economic and social ‘rights’.