| Module | Social Justice and the City |
| University | University College Dublin (UCD) |
| Assessment | Mid-term essay (50%) – two sections |
| Word count | 1,500 words (min. 600 per section), references excluded |
This UCD mid-term brief on housing and social justice has two essay sections. First you argue, with social science concepts, what ‘home’ means and should mean; then you diagnose one key problem in today’s Irish housing system, such as rising rents, homelessness or the position of a particular group, as groundwork for a later social housing proposal.
Mid-term Assignment: Diagnosing the Problem (50%)
Word count: 1,500 words, excluding the reference list (in-text citations count). Write at least 600 words for each of the two sections below, so that the sections are roughly equal in size; the usual +/- 10% applies.
In the mid-term assignment, you will write about two things:
Section 1: Your theory of housing and home
What do you think home means to people? The main task is to draw on social science concepts to define what home is. This will form the basis of your proposal for a model of housing, which you will develop in the final assignment. This section is mainly based on lectures one, two and three.
- Introduce some of the most useful concepts of housing and home from the academic literature.
- Explain what the concepts mean and why they are valuable, i.e. what they help us understand about home.
- Argue for how home should be conceptualised from a social justice perspective.
Section 2: The main problem(s) in the current Irish housing system
In order to fix any problem we first need to understand it. This section should discuss the current housing crisis in Ireland and explain what the key issue or issues are, using concepts and evidence. This content is mainly covered in lectures four, five and six.
It would be impossible to cover all the issues in the current housing system, so focus on the issue or issues you think are most important. You may focus on a particular aspect of the Irish housing crisis (e.g. affordability, supply, inequality, homelessness, overcrowding) or on a particular social group or cohort (e.g. working-class communities, migrants, lone parents, people with disabilities).
Key questions
- What is ‘home’? How should social scientists conceptualise home?
- What is the nature and extent of the problem, who is affected, and why is it happening?
- What problem will your later housing proposal address?
Both sections take a standard essay format; a heading for Section 1 and a heading for Section 2 is sufficient.
Final Assignment (50%) – for context
Design a model of housing provision based on social justice (1,500 words, excluding references). The proposal is developed for Clúid Housing, one of Ireland’s largest social and affordable housing providers.
Get Expert Help with Your Social Justice and the City Mid-term
Strong answers pick a few well-defined concepts of home and show why they matter for justice, then narrow the crisis to one issue backed by Irish evidence (homeless figures, rent trends, tenure data) instead of listing every problem. Keep both sections above 600 words and link Section 2 back to your idea of home.
Our essay help for Irish students can help you plan and reference the argument, and our assignment help in Dublin supports UCD social science modules. You can also see the SSJ30080 / EQUL40310 UCD assignment brief.
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