Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.

Required and recommended texts and/or materials

All weekly readings for the unit will be made available through the Leganto link in iLearn.

Lectures 

Lectures in this unit will be delivered in-person and will be made available online. You must attend these lectures before participating in the weekly tutorial.

Unit Webpages and E-Resources

Much of this unit (lectures, readings, assessment instructions etc.) is delivered online through iLearn (http://ilearn.mq.edu.au). PC and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement. Please consult teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements.

This course will focus on great texts in modern moral psychology with a focus on the Kohlberg vs Gilligan debate of the 1970s. Specifically, we will look at Carol Gilligan’s book In a Different Voice, which is a significant text for moral psychology, feminist theory, and ethics of care.

In addition to reading In a Different Voice, we will explore papers by Laurence Kohlberg, whose model of moral development was the inspiration and foil for Gilligan’s work. We will also read excerpts of texts

• By thinkers who inspired Kohlberg and Gilligan, including: Immanuel Kant and Virginia Wolf
• By thinkers inspired by Kohlberg and Gilligan, including: Virginia Held, Nel Noddings, Joan Tronto, Paul Formosa, Catriona Mackenzie, Stephanie Collins.

The course will provide an opportunity to reflect on:

• The origins of key ideas in contemporary moral psychology
• The origins of ethics of care, and how this has influenced current work in ethical theory
• The role of empirical research in philosophy
• The connections between psychology and philosophy
• How the status and position of people in oppressed groups influences the history of ideas (e.g. in a different voice is an example of what happens when a women has a space to work and an opportunity to lead a research project in a field dominated by men).