PHIL 207 Contemporary Political PhilosophyMEF UniversityDegree Programs Civil EngineeringGeneral Information For StudentsDiploma SupplementErasmus Policy Statement
Civil Engineering
Bachelor Length of the Programme: 4 Number of Credits: 240 TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF: Level 6

ECTS Course Information Package

School/Faculty/Institute Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences
Course Code PHIL 207
Course Title in English Contemporary Political Philosophy
Course Title in Turkish Çağdaş Siyaset Felsefesi
Language of Instruction EN
Type of Course Flipped Classroom,Lecture
Level of Course Introductory
Semester Fall
Contact Hours per Week
Lecture: 3 Recitation: None Lab: None Other: None
Estimated Student Workload 130 hours per semester
Number of Credits 5 ECTS
Grading Mode Standard Letter Grade
Pre-requisites None
Co-requisites None
Expected Prior Knowledge None
Registration Restrictions Only Undergraduate Students
Overall Educational Objective To acquire the necessary reasoning tools in order to think critically, be rational, better argue; to learn the ethical complexities of seemingly simple everyday issues and scientific developments and to gain skills to identify, argue, challenge and evaluate the arguments of others.
Course Description The aim of this course is to introduce the central approaches in contemporary political philosophy, and then critically compare the competing answers that they give to certain fundamental questions in political thought. The main approaches we will consider will be liberalism, communitarianism, and republicanism. Within each of these approaches, students will be exposed to various key concepts in contemporary political philosophy such as liberty, justice, identity, rights, equality, and many others. We will show how each of the main approaches differ on questions regarding these concepts and explore just how these differences play themselves out when theorizing about political issues broadly conceived. We will also focus on certain contemporary issues such as, feminism, citizenship, democracy, hate speech, cultural rights, identity politics and the welfare state.

Course Learning Outcomes and Competences

Upon successful completion of the course, the learner is expected to be able to:
1) Comprehend the main arguments for and against the basic principles of liberal egalitarian thought
2) Comprehend the key positions within contemporary political philosophy
3) Present critical and well-structured arguments in political philosophy
4) Compare and contrast the weakness and strengths of different positions in contemporary debates in liberal egalitarian thought
5) Combine arguments clearly and succinctly
Program Learning Outcomes/Course Learning Outcomes 1 2 3 4 5
1) An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
2) An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
3) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
4) An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
5) An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
6) An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
7) An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies

Relation to Program Outcomes and Competences

N None S Supportive H Highly Related
     
Program Outcomes and Competences Level Assessed by
1) An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics S HW
2) An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors S Participation
3) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences S Participation
4) An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts N
5) An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives N Participation
6) An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions N
7) An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies N
Prepared by and Date SENA CÜRE ACER , October 2024
Course Coordinator SENA CÜRE ACER
Semester Fall
Name of Instructor Öğr. Gör. TUĞBA SEVİNÇ YÜCEL

Course Contents

Week Subject
1) David Miller (2003), “Why do we need political philosophy?” A Very Short Introduction to Political Philosophy, Oxford University Press. 1-19.
2) Rawls, J. A Theory of Justice (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999) Secs. 2-4, 9, 11-16, 20, 24-26. (Topics: egalitarianism, liberty, justice as fairness, the veil of ignorance, social contract)
3) Anderson, E. ‘What is the Point of Equality’, Ethics, 109, 2 (1999), 287-337. first half of the paper (Types of equality, critique of luck egalitarianism, deserving vs. undeserving poor)
4) Anderson, E. ‘What is the Point of Equality’, Ethics, 109, 2 (1999), 287-337 second half of the paper (Sen’s Capability Approach, political equality)
5) Van Parijs, P. ‘Basic Income: A Simple and Powerful Idea for the Twenty-First Century’, in Ackerman, B. and Wright, E.O. (eds.) Redesigning Distribution (London: Verso, 2006). (welfare provisions based on need or universal basic income)
6) Okin, S. M. ‘The Family: Gender and Justice’ Clayton, M., and A. Williams, (eds.) Social Justice (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004).
7) Review and Paper topics discussion
8) Philip Pettit, Negative and Positive Liberty, in Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government, 17-27. Philip Pettit, Liberty as Non-domination, in Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government, 31-5. (The concept of domination, the master-slave theme)
9) Philip Pettit, Republican Freedom and Contestatory Democratization, 163-190 (Active citizenship, democratic participation, consent vs. contestation, mixed government, the tyranny of the majority.)
10) Fraser and Gordon (1994), “’Dependency’ Demystified,” Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 1994, Pages 4–31.
11) Jeremy Waldron (2012), The Harm in Hate Speech, 1-34, Harvard University Press.
12) Will Kymlicka (2002). Multiculturalism, In An Introduction to Contemporary Political Philosophy, 327-336. (Politics of redistribution or politics or recognition)
13) Will Kymlicka (2002). Multiculturalism as Communitarianism, In An Introduction to Contemporary Political Philosophy, 336-343, 368-9.
14) General review, final paper topics discussion
15) Final Examination Period
16) Final Examination Period
Required/Recommended ReadingsList of readings and indication whether they are required or recommended.
Teaching MethodsInstructional strategy and expectations for both students and instructional staff that follow from this. Student work modes (independently and/or in teams). Any work with the outside community – geographic or industry sector.
Homework and ProjectsPapers and response papers
Laboratory WorkNone
Computer UseYes
Other ActivitiesPapers and response papers
Assessment Methods
Assessment Tools Count Weight
Homework Assignments 1 % 10
Presentation 1 % 20
Midterm(s) 2 % 30
Final Examination 1 % 40
TOTAL % 100
Course Administration acers@mef.edu.tr

Academic dishonesty and plagiarism: YÖK Disciplinary Regulation.

ECTS Student Workload Estimation

Activity No/Weeks Hours Calculation
No/Weeks per Semester Preparing for the Activity Spent in the Activity Itself Completing the Activity Requirements
Course Hours 14 2 2 2 84
Presentations / Seminar 1 4 4
Homework Assignments 1 4 4
Midterm(s) 2 8 2 20
Final Examination 1 16 2 18
Total Workload 130
Total Workload/25 5.2
ECTS 5