For me, social policy is not only a deeply interesting area of study, but the initiatives regarding council housing, minimum wage, and the welfare state have profoundly influenced and shaped my life. As a child I was not aware of it, but my family was one of those making difficult decisions in order to get by. My parents both worked hard; for instance, my mother drove an hour each way to a job that would keep her until 8pm most days, but for a minimum wage that would barely cover food and electricity. They instilled in me and my brothers the importance of education, but while I was a gifted primary school student my early teenage years were tainted by a growing understanding of what being from a council estate and having family members on benefits
…show more content…
I began to think about how the system may have failed her, and I wanted to know where and why. I use this account of my early life to illustrate how my understanding of the world has been shaped by social policy, and as a result I have a unique insight into the welfare system. Accordingly, I would be able to use personal knowledge to enhance my research during this master’s …show more content…
I am also interested in investigating if these elements of social policy have had any effect on political participation among the working class, and if in turn this has influenced how parties conduct themselves. This latter interest caused me to develop the idea for my final year dissertation, in which I am writing about Donald Trump’s sudden political popularity and the populist rhetoric he uses that is appealing in a time of extreme fear of terrorism. Furthermore, I also uncovered an intriguing number of people who previously supported Bernie Sanders, but are now pledging allegiance to Trump. It is curious how so many American citizens feel disillusioned with those in elite positions, which I believe has been reflected in the UK during the past decade with the increased popularity of the BNP and UKIP. This master’s programme would present me with an exceptional opportunity to expand on my comparison of the two nations while under the supervision of esteemed professors, such as Mary Daly and Martin Seelib-Kaiser, who with their expertise in this field would be instrumental in helping me form these ideas into insightful academic
I began to think about how the system may have failed her, and I wanted to know where and why. I use this account of my early life to illustrate how my understanding of the world has been shaped by social policy, and as a result I have a unique insight into the welfare system. Accordingly, I would be able to use personal knowledge to enhance my research during this master’s …show more content…
I am also interested in investigating if these elements of social policy have had any effect on political participation among the working class, and if in turn this has influenced how parties conduct themselves. This latter interest caused me to develop the idea for my final year dissertation, in which I am writing about Donald Trump’s sudden political popularity and the populist rhetoric he uses that is appealing in a time of extreme fear of terrorism. Furthermore, I also uncovered an intriguing number of people who previously supported Bernie Sanders, but are now pledging allegiance to Trump. It is curious how so many American citizens feel disillusioned with those in elite positions, which I believe has been reflected in the UK during the past decade with the increased popularity of the BNP and UKIP. This master’s programme would present me with an exceptional opportunity to expand on my comparison of the two nations while under the supervision of esteemed professors, such as Mary Daly and Martin Seelib-Kaiser, who with their expertise in this field would be instrumental in helping me form these ideas into insightful academic