Joe Soss

Areas of Expertise

Welfare reform; public service; organization and governance of social policy; politics of inequality and poverty; role of race, class, and gender in public affairs

Biography

Joe Soss is the inaugural Cowles Chair for the Study of Public Service, a leading scholar on the reformed U.S. welfare system who has studied and written extensively on issues surrounding race in America.

Soss is the author of Unwanted Claims: The Politics of Participation in the U.S. Welfare System (University of Michigan Press, 2000), co-editor of Race and the Politics of Welfare Reform (University of Michigan Press, 2003), co-editor of Remaking America: Democracy and Public Policy in an Age of Inequality (Russell Sage Foundation, 2007), and author or co-author of numerous scholarly articles.

Soss received his master's and doctoral degrees in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he previously taught and also worked with the Institute for Research on Poverty. His research explores the politics of policy organization and public management, focusing on public policies that govern the life conditions, behaviors, and statuses of socially marginal groups.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Courses Taught

For syllabi for the current semester, view the University of Minnesota's Course Guide. For syllabi for public affairs classes for Fall 2007 or earlier, view the Humphrey Institute's course syllabi web page. Syllabi are available in alternative formats. Please send requests to Stacey Grimes, Humphrey Institute Office of the Associate Dean (grime004@umn.edu).

Go to the University of Minnesota One Stop website to apply for these and other public affairs courses.

No Fall 2009 courses.