BASS Politics and Sociology

The course deals with liberal egalitarian ideals of social justice, with three distinct areas of focus:

· How might we argue for a liberal egalitarian ideal of social justice?

· Is liberal egalitarianism properly inclusive of concerns such as gender or racial injustice?

· How should we best understand and apply liberal egalitarian values like freedom and equality?

What should a just society look like? What are the fairest rules for a system of social cooperation, and how do we come to determine them? What sort of social and economic institutions are needed to allow people to live together as free and equal citizens? Can a liberal egalitarian ideal of social justice effectively deal with gendered or racial injustice? This course explores these fundamental moral and political questions through the lenses of contemporary political theory.

By using a conceptual approach to understand issues in political philosophy, students will examine the place of such values as liberty, inclusion and equality in defining the differences between contemporary theories of justice.

Weekly lectures
Weekly seminars

Exam 65%
Essay (2,000 words) 35%
 

Politics staff will provide feedback on written work within 15 working days of submission via Blackboard (if submitted through Turnitin).

Students should be aware that all marks are provisional until confirmed by the external examiner and the final examinations boards in June.

For modules that do not have examination components the marks and feedback for the final assessed component are not subject to the 15 working day rule and will be released with the examination results. This applies to Semester 2 modules only. Semester one modules with no final examination will have their feedback available within the 15 working days.

You will receive feedback on assessed essays in a standard format. This will rate your essay in terms of various aspects of the argument that you have presented your use of sources and the quality of the style and presentation of the essay. If you have any queries about the feedback that you have received you should make an appointment to see your tutor. Tutors and Course Convenors also have a dedicated office hour when you can meet with her/him to discuss course unit specific problems and questions.

On assessments submitted through Turnitin you will receive feedback via Blackboard. This will include suggestions about ways in which you could improve your work in future. You will also receive feedback on non-assessed coursework, whether this is individual or group work. This may be of a more informal kind and may include feedback from peers as well as academic staff

C Farrelly
An Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory (Sage, 2004)

R Goodin & P Pettit
Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology (Blackwell, 1997)

W Kymlicka
Contemporary Political Philosophy (Clarendon Press, 1990)

Information
Length of course: 12 weeks

Pre-requisites: POLI10702

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £29,200 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships and bursaries, including the Manchester Bursary , are available to eligible home/EU students.

Some undergraduate UK students will receive bursaries of up to £2,000 per year, in addition to the government package of maintenance grants.

You can get information and advice on student finance to help you manage your money.