GV250-6-AU-CO:
Principles of Social Justice
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2023/24
Government
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 6
Inactive
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
15
24 March 2021
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
This module will introduce you to `principles of social justice`. These principles tell us how a political community should distribute resources and opportunities between individuals and groups.
The module examines competing principles of social justice by examining the work of the most important political philosophers to have defended them and also applies these principles to concrete social and political issues.
1. To introduce you to, and to stimulate your interest in, the study of social justice from the perspective of normative political theory.
2. To familiarise you with key concepts in normative political theory, such as “fairness”, “freedom”, and “desert”, as well as with the debates that use these concepts.
3. To equip you with an understanding of the relevance of theoretical debates about social justice to public policy controversies that involve social justice.
4. To encourage you to question your own beliefs about what a socially just political community looks like and to enable you to begin to formulate a vision of such a community for yourself.
1. To demonstrate familiarity with and fluency in using key concepts in social justice. You will be able to understand and explain the differences between concepts that are importantly different from each other but often confused in non-academic thinking about social justice.
2. To understand the nature of normative argumentation and its value to the study of politics. You will be able to formulate arguments about how our political community ought to distribute particular resources and opportunities.
3. To engage in clear verbal and written normative argumentation. You will acquire a greater confidence and ability to express what you believe is socially just and to express your scepticism about proposals about social justice.
4. To scrutinise arguments made by politicians and other prominent figures in the media about social justice.
No additional information available.
weekly one hour lecture and one hour class
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Rawls, J. (1999b)
A theory of justice. Rev. ed. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvkjb25m.
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Nozick, R. (1974) Anarchy, state, and Utopia. Oxford: Blackwell.
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Ronald Dworkin (2004) ‘Equality of Resources’, in Social Justice. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
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Van Parijs, P. (2001) ‘A Basic Income for All’, in
What’s wrong with a free lunch? Boston, Mass: Beacon Press, pp. 3–26. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=68476&site=ehost-live&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_3.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr James Christensen, email: james.christensen@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Christensen jwchri@essex.ac.uk Module Administrator Lewis Olley govquery@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
No
Dr Katharine Dommett
The University of Sheffield
Senior Lecturer
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Government
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