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. |
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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
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3) |
An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences |
S |
Participation
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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 |
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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
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6) |
An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions |
N |
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7) |
An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies |
N |
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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 |