
Course unit details:
Debating Justice
Unit code | POLI70611 |
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Credit rating | 15 |
Unit level | FHEQ level 7 – master's degree or fourth year of an integrated master's degree |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Aims
This is a course in contemporary normative political theory. It aims to introduce postgraduate students to normative analysis and philosophical reasoning through the critical study of contemporary political theory over the past forty years.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit successful students will be able to:
- Employ a rigorous analytical approach in critically evaluating the key theories of justice in contemporary Anglophone political theory.
- Examine and critique the central claims of liberal egalitarianism, libertarianism, feminism, Marxism, and republicanism.
- Develop their own responses to urgent and theoretically complex problems of justice.
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching will take place in weekly two-hour seminars. Students will be assigned reading and preparatory questions for each week, and will take turns presenting the readings.
Assessment methods
Method | Weight |
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Other | 10% |
Written assignment (inc essay) | 75% |
Oral assessment/presentation | 15% |
75% final essay, 3000 words
10% participation: in-class and/or online
15% in-class presentation OR equivalent piece of in-depth preparation of weekly readings
Recommended reading
The following are useful introductory works.
- Kymlicka, Will. Contemporary Political Philosophy: 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
- Goodin & Pettit (eds.) Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology Oxford: Wiley Blackwell 2019
- Olsaretti, Serena (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Distributive Justice Oxford: Oxford University Press 2018.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Seminars | 20 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 130 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Stephen Hood | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes