Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Senior Lecturer
Dr Paul Formosa
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(39cp at 100 level or above) or admission to GDipArts
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
What is justice? What is fair? This unit explores these important questions by examining several leading contemporary philosophical theories of justice, including John Rawls's influential theory of justice, and assessing the capacity of these theories to respond to pressing social issues. To do this we look at issues of inequality and diversity in society by asking: what degree of inequality, if any, can be justified? We explore the different answers to this question proposed by liberals, libertarians, and Marxists. We shall also examine broader questions around social and retributive justice, such as: How can we justify punishing those who violate justice? Should we focus more on the well-being of communities and less on the rights of individuals? Is justice biased against women? Should minorities receive special rights? What are the obligations of democratic citizenship? And what do we owe the poor in other countries?
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
All assessment is to be submitted on-line through iLearn.
Late Submission Policy
“Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.”
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Participation | 10% | No | On-going |
Research Presentation | 15% | No | On-going |
Comparative Analysis | 20% | No | 30/04/2018 |
Essay Plan and Essay | 35% | No | 7/06/2018 |
Quizzes | 20% | No | 8/06/2018 |
Due: On-going
Weighting: 10%
Internal students must attend at least 7 tutorials to be eligible for the participation mark. If you do not attend at least 7 tutorials you will receive 0 marks for participation. External students must participate in at least 7 different weekly tutorial discussion forums within 14 days of the relevant lecture (i.e. you should contribute something to the discussion forum on Rawls within 14 days of the lecture on Rawls). External students should post at least one original forum post and one post in response to another student's forum post each week.
If you meet the relevant minimum requirement, then your mark will be awarded on the basis of the quality of your participation in the tutorials/forums.
Participation assessment criteria and rubric handed out: Friday March 9
Due: On-going
Weighting: 15%
Students will present a critical analysis of a further piece of relevant research in tutorials. Students will be expected to complete the assessment in pairs or small groups (exceptions can be made to this rule, especially for external students). Students will have 5 minutes in tutorials in which to make their presentations. As well as giving an oral presentation, students will also need to submit the slides they use for their presentation (or submit a 500 word summary of their presentation if no slides are used). External students should record and upload to iLearn a 5 minute audio or video file of their presentation as well as upload slides or a 500 word summary. Groups and dates will be assigned in tutorials or via email/iLearn for external students.
Research Presentation assessment criteria and rubric handed out: Friday March 9
Due: 30/04/2018
Weighting: 20%
The aim of the comparative analysis (800 words) is to consolidate your understanding of the theories and issues discussed in the first half of the unit. You are required to critically analyse in comparative terms the central points of difference between two of the theories we discuss.
Comparative Analysis assessment criteria and rubric handed out: Friday March 16. Due Monday April 30.
Due: 7/06/2018
Weighting: 35%
First, an essay plan must be presented which outlines the argumentative structure of your essay.
Second, the essay plan must form the basis for an essay (1800 words). The essay is designed to extend your understanding of a specific topic and to test your ability to engage with that topic in depth. Essay writing tests your ability to synthesise material from a range of readings and to express, analyse and structure key ideas and arguments clearly, logically and systematically. It also tests your ability to develop your own view, and to argue for that view in a cogent and sustained way. You will be expected to read and incorporate into your essay extra secondary sources beyond the required readings.
Essay plan and essay assessment criteria and rubric handed out: 4 May. Due Thursday 7 June
Due: 8/06/2018
Weighting: 20%
There will be 10 weekly on-line quizzes worth a total of 20% (or a maximum of 2% for each of the 10 quizzes). Quizzes start in Week 2 (Utilitarianism) and run until Week 12 (Global justice). Quizzes open after the relevant lecture. All quizzes close on Friday June 8.
Required Readings
Textbook: Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. (2nd edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2002.
Other Required readings: Other required readings are listed in the unit guide and available for download from library eReserve. There is no printed unit reader.
You must read the required readings BEFORE the lecture and tutorial.
Additional readings: As well as the required reading, recommended additional readings for each topic are listed on iLearn. Kymlicka also provides suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter and offers useful comments about what each text contains. You do NOT need to read these each week.
Section 1: Equality and Inequality
Week 1 (Friday 2 March)
Lecture 1: Introduction: Equality and Diversity
No tutorial
No required reading
Week 2 (Friday 9 March)
Lecture 2: Utilitarianism
Tutorial 1: Utilitarianism
Required Reading:
1. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 2, pp. 10-37; 45-52. [OPTIONAL: Section 5, pp.37-45].
Participation rubric handed out: Friday March 9
Research Presentation handed out: Friday March 9
Quizzes start this week and continue until end of semester
Week 3 (Friday 16 March)
Lecture 3: Rawls
Tutorial 2: Rawls
Required Reading:
1. John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, 1971), Ch. 1, Sections 1-6, Ch. 2, Sections 11-12, Ch. 3, Sections 24-26.
2. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 3, Sections 1-3 ONLY (pp.53-75). Do NOT read past p.75, we will cover that next week.
Comparative Analysis handed out: Friday March 16
Week 4 (Friday March 23)
Lecture 4: Dworkin
Tutorial 3: Dworkin
Required Reading:
1. Ronald Dworkin, ‘What is Equality? Part 2: Equality of Resources’, Philosophy & Public Affairs, 10:4, 1981, Section I-IV & VII ONLY (pp.283-314; pp. 335-345). [OPTIONAL: Sections V & VI (pp. 314-334).
2. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 3, Sections 4-5.
Week 5 (Friday March 30)
NO LECTURE THIS WEEK - GOOD FRIDAY HOLIDAY
Week 6 (Friday April 6)
Lecture 5: Nozick
Tutorial 4: Nozick
Required Reading:
1. Robert Nozick, ‘Distributive Justice’ (selections), Ch. 7 of Anarchy, State and Utopia, (New York: Basic Books, 1974).
2. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 4, Section 2 (pp. 107-127), Section 4 (pp. 138-153), & Section 5 (pp.154-159) ONLY [OPTIONAL: Section 1 and Section 3 on Chapter 4].
Week 7 (Friday 13 April)
Lecture 6: Analytical Marxism
Tutorial 5: Analytical Marxism
Required Reading:
1. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 5
HOLIDAYS
Section 2: Diversity, Citizenship and Justice
Week 8 (Friday 4 May)
Comparative Analysis assessment due: Monday April 30
Lecture 7: Retributive Justice, Criminality and Punishment
Tutorial 6: Retributive Justice, Criminality and Punishment
Required Reading:
1. Rawls, A Theory of Justice, Section: The Rule of Law, section 38, pp. 206-213
2. Walen, Alec, "Retributive Justice", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/justice-retributive/>.
Essay Plan and Essay assessment handed out: 4 May
Week 9 (Friday 11 May)
Lecture 8: Feminism
Tutorial 7: Feminism
Required Reading:
1. Susan Moller Okin, ‘Justice as Fairness: For Whom?’ Ch. 5 of Justice, Gender and the Family, (New York: Basic Books, 1989)
2. Eva Feder Kittay, ‘Human Dependency and Rawlsian Equality’, in Diana Meyers (ed.) Feminists Rethink the Self (Boulder: Westview Press, 1997)
Week 10 (Friday 18 May)
Lecture 9: Citizenship
Tutorial 8: Citizenship
Required reading:
1. Joshua Cohen, ‘Deliberation and Democratic Legitimacy’ in James Bohman & William Rehg (eds) Deliberative Democracy: Essays on Reason and Politics, (MIT Press, 1997)
2. Anne Phillips, ‘Dealing with Difference: A Politics of Ideas or a Politics of Presence?’ in Goodin & Pettit (eds) Contemporary Political Philosophy
Week 11 (Friday25 May)
Lecture 10: Multiculturalism
Tutorial 9: Multiculturalism
Required reading
1. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 8
Week 12 (Friday June 1)
Lecture 11: Global Justice
Tutorial 10: Global Justice
Required Reading:
1. Brian Barry, ‘Humanity and Justice in Global Perspective’ in Goodin and Pettit (eds.), Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology
2. John Rawls, The Law of Peoples (Harvard, 1999), Part III, Sections 15 & 16.
Week 13 (Friday June 8)
Writing Week
No Lectures or Tutorials
Essay Plan and Essay due Thursday June 7
Quizzes close Friday June 8
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