The objective of the course is to enable students to apply their theoretical and conceptual sociological background to concrete social policy issues and to develop an understanding of practical policy-making by considering: what is the problem, who are involved, what are the shortcomings of existing policies, and what are the possible ways to improve those. For this purpose, the course also has a policy-making emphasis by promoting discussions on the basis of global and/or regional policy reports and briefs on contemporary social issues and online policy resources, as well as by encouraging individual and team-work on selected policy issues and in-class exercises