Poverty and participation
The following film, ‘Social science, poverty and participation’ looks in some detail at the history of social scientific definitions of poverty. It addresses how social scientific ideas about participation in social worlds have impacted on public debates and policies about poverty, inequality and social exclusion.
You should now watch the film. You will need to spend some time engaging with its themes and issues, and we recommend that you watch it at least twice.
As you watch, consider the questions below:
- How have definitions of poverty, and of how to measure poverty, changed over time?
- According to the film, what have been the key contributions of social scientists to the redefinition of poverty?
- Has social science made any difference to how poverty is understood?
As you continue through this course, you should keep in mind the issues addressed in this film, and in particular the questions it raises about what shapes different people’s participation in social activities.
OpenLearn - Social science and participation 
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