POLITICS 320 Social Justice - Course Outlines

Course Prescription

Examines contemporary theories of justice focusing on the relationships between justice, equality and liberty. Students explore a range of topics that may include the distribution of resources both globally and domestically, and the rights of cultural minorities, gender groups, animals and future generations.

Course Overview

The question: “What is justice?” is one of the oldest in the western tradition of political philosophy. Classical political thinkers answered it by drawing analogies between the just society and the ethical person; since the liberal revolution of the 17th century, however, political philosophers have tended to emphasize distributive justice – the rules by which a society distributes those resources it considers valuable. Today we tend to think of these as material resources or outcomes, but they might also include intangibles such as self-respect and rights.

In this course we focus on contemporary debates surrounding social – particularly distributive – justice. These originate in early modern ideas about the relationship between private property and social organization, and reflect some of the most important debates within liberal philosophy – particularly between libertarianism and liberal egalitarianism. In the first half of the course, we examine the ideas of John Rawls, and Robert Nozick as key thinkers in these traditions, and then focus on the question of equality, which has since the 1980s preoccupied liberal philosophers thinking about distributive justice.

In the second half of the course, we move away from liberal debates to examine theoretical perspectives critical of the basic assumptions of liberal theories of justice. We begin by exploring socialist critiques of the market, and then consider feminist arguments that gender inequalities underlie even the “just” liberal society. We examine the significance of the public/private split fundamental to liberal political theory. We then discuss identity politics more broadly, and the implications of cultural pluralism for theories of justice. Finally, we examine justice in the global context.

This course should appeal to all students of politics who are interested in the ethical dimensions and philosophical justifications of public policy. It will be of particular interest to Law and Criminology students, and to those who have taken lower level courses in political or social thought, philosophy, international relations theory, political economy or gender studies.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II in Political Studies or Politics and International Relations or Philosophy, or POLITICS 106 and 30 points at Stage II in Global Politics and Human Rights

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Recognise and discuss the main currents of contemporary philosophical thinking about social justice. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3)
Identify the ways in which liberal philosophical approaches to social justice have been challenged by critical theory and identity-based theory. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.1 and 4.2)
Understand the uses of philosophical approaches to politics when we come to negotiate and respond to the actual political problems which challenge us today. (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 6.2 and 6.3)
Recognise the relationship between domestic and global contexts when making normative political arguments (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3)
Construct a theoretically-informed argument for a political position on a social issue, and defend it in writing and in oral discussion. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2 and 6.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type	Percentage	Classification
Essay	30%	Individual Coursework
Group presentation exercise	20%	Group Coursework
Report on group presentation	10%	Individual Coursework
Final Exam	40%	Individual Examination
4 types	100%

Next offered

Semester 2, 2020

Learning Resources

Text book required: M Clayton and A Williams, eds., Social Justice, Oxford: Blackwell, 2004.

Additional readings will be available on Canvas.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect per week: 2 hours of lectures, 1 hour of tutorial discussion, and 7 hours of reading and thinking about the content and working on assignments and/or exam preparation.

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page (https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894), which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Capability 1:	Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2:	Critical Thinking
Capability 3:	Solution Seeking
Capability 4:	Communication and Engagement
Capability 5:	Independence and Integrity
Capability 6:	Social and Environmental Responsibilities

POLITICS 320 : Social Justice

Arts

2020 Semester Two (1205) (15 POINTS)