Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Internal Convenor
Dr Paul Formosa
OUA Convenor
Dr Jane Johnson
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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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? This unit explores this important question by examining a number of 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 social questions around justice, such as: 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 protections and privileges? How can we justify punishing those who violate justice? What are the obligations of democratic citizenship? And what do we owe the poor in other countries?
All enrolment queries should be directed to Open Universities Australia (OUA): see www.open.edu.au
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.open.edu.au/student-admin-and-support/key-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 |
---|---|---|---|
Participation | 10% | No | On-going |
Research Presentation | 15% | No | On-going |
Comparative Analysis | 20% | No | 10AM on 29/04/2019 |
Essay Plan and Essay | 35% | No | 11:59PM on 6/06/2019 |
Quizzes | 20% | No | 11:59PM on 7/06/2019 |
Due: On-going
Weighting: 10%
External/online 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: Monday March 4
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, depending on tutorial numbers (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 upload the slides they use for their presentation (or submit a 500 word summary of their presentation if no slides are used) on the same day that they give their presentation. External/online students should record and upload to iLearn an equivalent 5 minute video (preferred) or audio file of their presentation as well as upload slides or a 500 word summary; these must be uploaded on the same day as the equivalent internal tutorial. Groups and dates will be assigned in tutorials or via email/iLearn for external students.
Research Presentation assessment criteria and rubric handed out: Monday March 4
Due: 10AM on 29/04/2019
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: Monday March 11. Due 10AM Monday 29 April. NOTE that this assessment item is due by 10AM (i.e. BEFORE the lecture on Monday 29 April).
Due: 11:59PM on 6/06/2019
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: 30 April. Due by 11:59PM on Thursday June 6.
Due: 11:59PM on 7/06/2019
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 3 (Rawls) and run until Week 12 (Global justice). Quizzes open after the relevant lecture. All quizzes close on Friday June 7.
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 or from iLearn. 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 (25 February)
Lecture 1: Introduction: Equality and Diversity
No tutorial
No required reading
Week 2 (4 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: March 4
Research Presentation handed out: March 4
Week 3 (11 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 (pp. 3-33), Ch. 2, Sections 11-12 (pp. 60-78), Ch. 3, Sections 24-26 (pp. 136-161).
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: March 11
Quizzes start this week and continue until end of semester
Week 4 (March 18)
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 (March 25)
Lecture 5: Nozick
Tutorial 4: Nozick
Required Reading:
1. Robert Nozick, ‘Distributive Justice’ Ch. 7 (Section 1, pp. 149-182 & from 'Natural Assets' until end of chapter, pp. 213-231) 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 6 (1 April)
Lecture 6: Analytical Marxism
Tutorial 5: Analytical Marxism
Required Reading:
1. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 5
Week 7 (8 April)
Lecture 7: Capabilities Approach, Communitarianism and Perfectionism Required
Required Reading:
1. Martha Nussbaum, Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), Chapter. 1, Sections IV-V (pp. 70-96) ONLY.
2. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch 6, Sections 1-8 (pp. 208-261), Section 11 (pp. 270-273). [OPTIONAL: Section 9-10 (pp. 261-270)]
No Tutorials this week – Writing week
RECESS
Section 2: Diversity, Citizenship and Justice
Week 8 (29 April)
Comparative Analysis assessment due: Monday April 29 at 10AM
Lecture 8: 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. 235-243.
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: 29 April
Week 9 (6 May)
Lecture 9: Feminism
Tutorial 7: Feminism
Required Reading:
1. Susan Moller Okin, ‘Justice as Fairness: For Whom?’ Ch. 5 of Justice, Gender and the Family (pp. 88-109), (New York: Basic Books, 1989)
2. Eva Feder Kittay, ‘Human Dependency and Rawlsian Equality’ (pp. 219-266), in Diana Meyers (ed.) Feminists Rethink the Self (Boulder: Westview Press, 1997)
Week 10 (13 May)
Lecture 10: Citizenship
Tutorial 8: Citizenship
Required reading:
1. Joshua Cohen, ‘Deliberation and Democratic Legitimacy’ (pp. 67-91) 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?’ (pp. 174-184) in Goodin & Pettit (eds) Contemporary Political Philosophy
Week 11 (20 May)
Lecture 11: Multiculturalism
Tutorial 9: Multiculturalism
Required reading
1. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 8
Week 12 (27 May)
Lecture 12: Global Justice
Tutorial 10: Global Justice
Required Reading:
1. Brian Barry, ‘Humanity and Justice in Global Perspective’ (pp. 525-539) in Goodin and Pettit (eds.), Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology
2. John Rawls, The Law of Peoples (Harvard, 1999), Part III, Sections 15 & 16 (pp. 105-120).
Week 13 (3 June)
No Lectures or Tutorials this week - Writing Week
Essay Plan and Essay due Thursday June 6 at 11:59PM
Quizzes close Friday June 7 at 11:59PM
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.
The University recognises that students may experience events or conditions that adversely affect their academic performance. If you experience serious and unavoidable difficulties at exam time or when assessment tasks are due, you can consider applying for Special Consideration.
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If you feel that your studies have been impacted submit an application as follows:
Outcome
Once your submission is assessed, an appropriate outcome will be organised.
You can withdraw from your subjects prior to the census date (last day to withdraw). If you successfully withdraw before the census date, you won’t need to apply for Special Circumstances. If you find yourself unable to withdraw from your subjects before the census date - you might be able to apply for Special Circumstances. If you’re eligible, we can refund your fees and overturn your fail grade.
If you’re studying Single Subjects using FEE-HELP or paying up front, you can apply online.
If you’re studying a degree using HECS-HELP, you’ll need to apply directly to Macquarie University.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
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Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
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