Course syllabus

 

SEMESTER 2 2020

15 points

PHIL 310: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY III

CURRENT ISSUES IN GLOBAL JUSTICE

 

NB: The syllabus is available as a word file  in Module 1 or from the Files section of canvas.

Please download this important document which contains essential details for the course, including detailed information about assessment.

 

Note: This draft is accurate as at 06/07/20. The Covid-19 situation might necessitate changes.  Please check your university email regularly to stay on top of important course announcements.

 

 

Course Convenor: 

Gillian Brock - g.brock@auckland.ac.nz

Arts 1, room 458

 

Tuakana Mentor:

To be confirmed, but possibly Nathan Rew

e-mail:  nrew454@aucklanduni.ac.nz

Nate's cohort includes all Maori and Pacific students enrolled in Philosophy courses in stage 1 through to 3.

 

Well-being always comes first We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Course delivery format:

2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of tutorial

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online). See below for current information.)

 

Summary of Course Description:           

In The Law of Peoples John Rawls sets out the general principles that should regulate the interactions of all the peoples of the world.  He argues that these principles should be acceptable to both liberal and non-liberal societies.  We start off by examining whether Rawls's principles are an adequate standard for regulating peoples' behaviour and whether the principles should be acceptable to liberal and non-liberal societies.  We then move on to discuss the work of several critics.

 

We consider various issues related to Global Distributive Justice, such as these: What, if anything, are people owed as a matter of justice in the global context?   Do we have responsibilities to assist the global poor?  Should we endorse a Global Difference Principle?  Are global taxes such as Thomas Pogge’s proposed Global Resources Dividend defensible? 

 

Having dealt with some fundamental theoretical issues, we go on to consider three highly prominent sets of issues in the areas of immigration, military intervention, and economic justice. For instance, we consider: Which restrictions on immigration, if any, are justified?  Are protectionist policies in trade justified? Can globalization be better harnessed to assist the global poor?  How can we better assist those in poor countries who are trying to help themselves?  

 

In the second part of the course we also consider issues concerning the basis and limits of sovereignty, considering issues related to when (if ever) intervention may be justified at the international level.   Some questions considered include: Is military intervention ever justified for humanitarian purposes (such as in recent years in the cases of Sudan, Libya or Rwanda)?  When, if ever, is war permissible?  Can preventive war ever be justified using the just war framework? 

 

 

 

 

Course outcomes:

A student who successfully completes this course will have the opportunity to:

• be able to identify justice and ethical components of international problems and offer analyses of these.
• acquire knowledge of global justice issues and apply it to current problems
• enhance their capabilities in scholarly analysis, interpretation of evidence, and presentation of reasoned arguments.
• acquire skills in report writing, critical thinking, academic literacy, and oral presentation.

 

 

Course lecturer:        Professor Gillian Brock

 

Lectures:                    Tuesdays, 2-4pm. (206-201)

 

Discussion hour:       Thursdays 3-4pm.  These will  start in the second week of the semester. (CAG10/114-G10)

 

 

Assessment:

60% final 3-hour examination, 40% coursework.

Coursework consists of one early assessment (worth 10% of your final mark) and one assignment (worth 30% of your final mark). Details of these assessments are covered in the course syllabus document .

 

Note: There is no plussage in this course. 

This is a closed book exam.

In total, exam and coursework involves the equivalent of 6000 words of assessment.

 

 

MORE DETAILS ABOUT ASSESSMENT, TUTORIALS and OTHER IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN THE COURSE SYLLABUS.  DOWNLOAD THIS IMPORTANT DOCUMENT AND REFER TO IT OFTEN FOR DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THIS COURSE.