GV254-5-SP-CO:
Ethics and Public Policy
2016/17
Government
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
15
13 February 2014
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA LV21 Modern History and Politics,
BA LV22 Modern History and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA LV2C Modern History and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA LV25 Philosophy and Politics,
BA LV2M Philosophy and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA L219 Politics with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L2M9 Politics with Human Rights,
BA LFM9 Politics with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA LL23 Sociology and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA LL24 Sociology and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA LL32 Sociology and Politics
Should murderers be executed? Should cocaine and heroin be legalized? Is torture ever morally justified? Is abortion morally wrong? Should pornography be banned? Should prostitution be legal? Do citizens have a moral right to physician-assisted suicide? This module assesses these and other questions in an intellectual search for the moral principles that ought to govern public policy.
The module aims to expose students to a variety of scholarly debates about the moral principles that govern different areas of law and policy-making. By the end of the module, students will be able to explain and appraise the arguments on different sides of a wide range of controversial political topics. The module's further objectives are to develop students' capacities for critical reasoning: for understanding and explaining arguments, identifying weaknesses and articulating objections to arguments, and offering constructive criticism about how to make arguments better. The module will also develop students' skills in oral argumentation, strengthening their capacities to articulate their positions on complicated questions and defend them with confidence in front of their colleagues.
The module is ideal for students interested in work in NGOs, think tanks, the civil service, or political parties; for students interested in law conversion courses; and for students interested in empirical political science who are interested in the moral implications of empirical research.
No information available.
No information available.
No additional information available.
The module will feature an hour of lecture per week and an hour of class per week. The lecture will be largely interactive, so students should come having done the readings and prepared to participate.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
In Class Test |
|
20% |
| Coursework |
Reading Response 1 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Reading Response 2 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Reading Response 3 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Reading Response 4 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Reading Response 5 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Prospectus |
|
15% |
| Coursework |
Reading Response 6 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Reading Response 7 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Reading Response 8 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Reading Response 9 |
|
|
| Coursework |
Research Paper |
|
40% |
| Practical |
Attendance and Participation |
|
5% |
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
Module Supervisor: Dr Christensen, james.christensen@essex.ac.uk
Module Administrator: Sallyann West, sawest@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Alistair Clark
The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Senior Lecturer in Politics
Available via Moodle
Of 90 hours, 68 (75.6%) hours available to students:
2 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
20 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
Government
Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can
be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements,
industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist
of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules.
The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.