|
|
|
political science 410 / 514 contemporary (normative) political philosophy Tuesday evenings, 6-9
pm, Winter term – 2006-07 Don
Carmichael Phone:
492‑5390 email: Don.Carmichael@ualberta.ca If
the course is full: go to Bear Scat and put yourself
on the waiting list for the course. |
NB: This outline is posted for information: it is provisional and
may be changed
This
will be a seminar on some of the principal recent works in contemporary Anormative”
political theory/philosophy. This approach, exemplified by Rawls= A
Theory of Justice, addresses value questions of political life in terms
that typically combine analysis of the value-question with careful attention to
issues of justification and philosophical clarity.
A
great deal of this work is concerned with issues of the liberal democratic
state (eg, freedom, equality, justice) -- but the field also includes many
radical and revolutionary theorists who reject the liberal democratic
state. The field is politically
wide-open. It is characterized by a commitment to clarity in explanation and
justification, not by political beliefs.
This
course will attempt, somewhat ambitiously, to provide an overview of the field
(introducing students to the leading theorists and issues) while also, at the
same time, engaging in some depth with two major thinkers: John Rawls (the most
important liberal theorist since Mill) and Charles Taylor (a Canadian, and one
of the most creative political theorists today). The overview topics will include: social justice, self-ownership,
rights, multiculturalism and world citizenship
The
purpose of this seminar is not to “instruct” students, but rather to provide a
format in which they can read and discuss some core works of the field. Clearly, only some of the core works can be
covered. Consequently, I invite participants
to suggest revisions to the course topics and work load as the seminar proceeds
Students
taking the course for credit will be asked to do three short “positional”
papers, two during the term and one at the end of the term. It may be possible to discuss some of these
papers in the seminar. In addition all participants (including auditors) will
be expected (i) to contribute to the seminar discussions, (ii) to prepare
digests of the readings for each session (with two weeks off of your own
choosing) and (iii) to read their digests aloud in the seminar on various
occasions as a way of opening discussion.
Essays: (3 @
equal weight) 80%
contributions to the seminar** 20%
* The reading digests ‑‑ which
must be done each week before the seminar ‑‑ will be graded only
as satisfactory/ unsatisfactory. But
they are a strict requirement and marks will be deducted from the final grade
(up to two letter grades) for missing digests (note again that everyone gets
two weeks off, at dates of their own choosing.
**
Seminar contributions will be evaluated by the quality of oral
contributions, including questions. One
can contribute effectively to the quality of a seminar without speaking much,
or even at all. Students who are
uncomfortable speaking in public are invited to discuss alternative forms of
seminar contribution with me.
Texts
John
Rawls, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement
Pol S
410/514 course reader
All essays should be terse, analytical, and
"positional" -- arguing a definite thesis in relation to some aspect
of the readings. Students are encouraged to develop their own views in these
essays -- eg, by contesting a specific claim made by Aristotle, or by arguing a
rival thesis on the topic, or (in certain cases) by writing a critical response
to a fellow student in the seminar. The only requirement is that the essay
argue a specific and explicitly stated thesis ("In this essay I will argue
that... ").
Part
1: Introduction & Background -- Equality & Freedom
Sept
12 Organizational Meeting (Jencks,
“Justice and Equality of Opportunity”)
4 Mill, Utilitarianism,
ch 5
9 Mill, “The Harm Principle”, selections from
On Liberty
13 illustration (1): Feinberg, “The Offence Principle”
26 Kymlicka, “Liberal Equality”.
37 Rawls,
selections from A Theory of Justice (sections 1-4, 11, 26)
8 illustration(2): Decisions
of the Supreme Court in Rodriguez v BC (euthanasia)
Recommended
28 Pettit,
“The Contribution of Analytic Philosophy” (overview)
24 Rorty, “Private irony and liberal hope”
Part 2:
The Just Society --Split Sessions on Rawls and Rights
Sept 26 Restatement (Part 1) + Rights (1) : Analysis (Hohfeld)
35 Rawls,
Restatement, Part 1 (sections 1-11)
13 Jones, “Forms of Right”
14 Nozick, “Distributive Justice”
79
Oct
3 Restatement (Part 2) + Rights (2) : Protected Choice vs Protected Benefits
35 Rawls,
Restatement, Part 2
(sections 12-22)
21 Sumner,
“Conceptual Alternatives” (*difficulty alert)
7 illustration: Thomson, “A Defence of
Abortion” – just pp 47-53 (up to “2. The extreme view...”)
10 illustration:
Carmichael, “Abortion and the Right to Life”
73
Oct
10 -- Restatement (Part
3) + Rights (3) : Human Rights
53 Rawls,
Restatement, Part 3
(sections 23-40)
25 Jones, “Justifying Human Rights”
10 Pocklington,
“Against
Inflating Human Rights”
88
Recommended
8 Hart,
“Are
There any Natural Rights?”
14 Sen, “Human
Rights and Capabilities,” 2005
Oct
17 -- Restatement
(Part 4) + Rights (4) : Capabilities, Disabilities, & The Ethic
of Care K essay #
1 due
39 39 Rawls, Restatement,
selections from Parts 4 and 5:
sections 41-2, 45-7 and 51-53 (in
Part 4) and sections 54-7 and 60 (in Part 5)
13 13 Nussbaum, “Capabilities
and Social Justice”, 2002, (this takes you to the abstract:
click on PDF at the bottom)
15 Virginia
Held, “Care
and Justice in the Global Context”
12 Gottlieb, “The
Tasks of Embodied Love”, (2002)
79
Part 3: The Good Society -- Split Sessions on Charles Taylor and Current Debates
Oct
24 -- Taylor (1) + Equality
& the Public Good
32 Taylor, Sources of the
Self , sections 1.1 and 2.1 - 2.3 (pp 3-8 in ch 1 and all of ch 2)
32 32 Barry, “Why Equal
Opportunity?” and “Education” (chs 4-5 in Why Social Justice Matters)
64
Recommended
Taylor,
the rest of ch 1(sections 1.2 - 1.5)
11 Sen, “Equality of what?”
Oct
31 -- Taylor (2) + Equality: Market Choice vs Public Goods
41 Taylor,
Sources of the Self , sections 3.2- 4.2 (pp 62-103)
14 Virginia
Held, “Care
and The Extension of Markets”,
11 illustration:
Chaoulli v Quebec (Supreme Court decision on private health insurance)
65
Recommended
Taylor,
Sources of the Self , the rest of chs 3-4 (sections 3.1, 4.3 - 4.5)
12 Elster,
“The Market and The Forum”
18 Young,
“Polity
and Group Difference” (1989)
10 10 Habermas,
“Three
Normative Models of Democracy”,
(1994)
Nov 7
-- Taylor (3): Muliticulturalism
14 Taylor,
“The Politics of Recognition”
14 Kymlicka,
“Freedom and Culture”
9 Parekh,
“Contemporary Liberal Responses to Diversity”
12 Barry,
“Theories of Group Rights”
11 John
Bowen, “Muslims and Citizens”, Boston Review (2004)
60
Recommended
25 Laborde,
“Secular
Philosophy and Muslim Headscarves in Schools” (2005)
Boston Review Debate on Feminism
and Multiculturalism (1999)
especially:
Okin, “Is Multiculturalism Bad for
Women?”
Pollitt, “Whose Culture?”
Kymlicka., “Liberal
Complacencies”.
Nov 14 -- November Break - no seminar K essay # 2
due
Part 4:
Global Justice,
Human Rights and Citizenship
Nov 21 – Global Citizenship, Global Rights: The UN Declaration
8 Kymlicka,
“Citizenship Theory
6 Nussbaum,
“Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism”
10 Barry,
“Meltdown?”
18 Glendon,
“The Declaration of Interdependence”
4 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
47
Recommended
15 15 David
Held, “Cosmopolitanism:
globalisation tamed?”, (2003)
9 Elshtain, “The
responsibility of nations” (2003)
16 Nussbaum, “Compassion
and Terror” (2003).
Hotel
Rwanda (movie)
Nov 28 -- Human Rights & The UN Declaration -- Questions
11 Cranston, “Human Rights, Real and Supposed”
20 Beitz,
“What
Human Rights Mean” (2003)
12 Glendon,
“Universality Under Siege”
43
Review (from Oct 10)
10 Pocklington,
“Against
Inflating Human Rights”
25 Jones, “Justifying Human Rights”
Recommended:
8 Hart,
“Are
There any Natural Rights?”
14 Sen, “Human
Rights and Capabilities,” 2005
Dec 5 Global Poverty, Global Justice?
4 4 Peter Singer, “The Singer Solution to
World Poverty”, (1999
17 Global
Poverty Relief : Ethics & International Affairs 16:1 (2002) :
Andrew
Kuper, “More
than Charity”
Peter Singer, “Poverty, Facts and Political Philosophies”
16 Nussbaum, “Beyond
the social contract: capabilities and global justice” (2004)
37
Recommended:
15 World
Poverty and Human Rights: Ethics &
International Affairs 19:1 (2005) :
Thomas
Pogge, “ World
Poverty and Human Rights”
Debra
Satz “ What
Do We Owe the Global Poor”
16 Williams,
“Realism and Moralism in Political Theory”
Dec
12 K essay # 3 due