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political science 410 & 514 Seminar
on John Rawls’ Political Liberalism
fall term, 2011-12
Friday afternoons, 2-5 pm
email: Don.Carmichael@ualberta.ca |
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Course
Outline This
will be a seminar on John Rawls’ Political
Liberalism, with particular attention to his conception of public reason.
John
Rawls (1921-2002) is
widely regarded as the most important liberal political philosopher since
John Stuart Mill. Rawls’ work is not
easily summarized but it is conventionally described in terms of two topics –
justice and the terms of public debate. In A Theory of Justice (1971) Rawls outlined a conception of
justice – deeply liberal and social democratic in character – based upon
principles which, he held were virtually the only principles which a rational person could hold. This argument revolutionized political
philosophy, at least throughout the English-speaking world, but it was and
remains controversial. In dealing with these controversies Rawls was led over
the next twenty-five years to reflect in quite original ways on the
requirements of political justification.
One important result was a conception of ‘public reason’ which holds
that fundamental political issues must be debated and decided in terms that
all citizens could reasonably accept, whatever their (and our) actual views.
This and other reflections appeared as Political Liberalism. For
Rawls, and for purposes of this seminar, the term ‘liberalism’ has a specific
meaning: a commitment to respecting the freedom and equality of others. Attention to Rawls’ “liberalism” therefore
simply means attention to views of justice and public justification which
take seriously the freedom and equality of all citizens. The focus is less on ‘what’ is justified
and more on how political justification should be understood and conducted. The
seminar will work through the essays in Political
Liberalism, taking each essay separately and carefully. Students will be
invited to develop their own views of public justification through critical
reflection on Rawls’ arguments.
Students will not be asked to agree with Rawls’ views, nor even to agree with Rawls’ commitment to citizen
freedom and equality. Agreement – or disagreement – on these points is in
itself of absolutely no interest. The
aim instead is to understand Rawls critically as a means to developing one’s
own views with greater clarity and depth. There
will be two versions of the seminar.
This seminar is intended for students who have some developed
familiarity with contemporary normative political philosophy including some
experience in identifying and explaining their own views of justice. Students
who lack this background are referred to a separate version of the course
Tuesday evenings -- Justice
and Public Reason : The Liberalism of John Rawls
– where this background will be
provided. Readings and Texts The main text will be Rawls’ Political Liberalism. This has been ordered through the SUB
bookstore but students can probably get it more cheaply through Chapters and
Amazon. A few on-line readings will
also be required. All participants – including auditors --
will be expected to contribute to the seminar discussions and to prepare for
these discussions by careful reading of the assigned material. As part of this preparation, participants
will be asked to write a digest of the main reading each week: that is, a a brief statement (1-1.5 pp) of the core
position in the reading (the main point and the main steps in its
argument). These are to be done before
each session, as part of the preparation for it. Auditors are expected to do
a digest for any session they attend; those taking the course for credit are
expected to do one each week -- with two weeks off of their own choosing. In addition, those taking the course for credit will be asked to do two short papers
during the term and a longer paper at the end of the term. All
essays should be terse, analytical, and "positional" -- arguing a
definite thesis in relation to some aspect of the readings. The two short papers (5-7
pp) will be discussed in the seminar. They should be critical re-reflections on
any issue considered the week before, and should be e-mailed to participants
with at least 24 hours’ notice. Students can choose their own dates and topics
for these papers; but let’s try not to do more than one a week. The longer (10-12 pp)
paper at the end of the term should be a critical assessment of some aspect
(i) of Rawls’ account in Political
Liberalism, or (ii) of some aspect more specifically of public reason,
or/and (iii) in comparison to one of the major theorists of the tradition. Two
short papers: (equal
weight) 40% End of term paper 50% contributions to the seminar 10% * 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 contribution with me.
Apparently course outlines are required to
include an explicit statement of the course objective(s). I’d have thought this was obvious, but in
case it isn’t, the objective of this course is to help each student to
develop a clear, critical understanding of her/his own position on the topics
discussed, using Rawls’ work. That’s
my objective in teaching the course; and I hope through doing this to develop
such an understanding for myself. As
to the objectives of any students taking the course, well that’s for them to
decide for themselves. But I hope their objectives are, as mine, to develop
such an understanding as well as they can.
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Universal
Syllabus Components: (these appear on all course outlines in the
faculty: posted here to save paper)
GRADING SCHEME:
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Letter
Grade |
Grade
Point |
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Excellent |
A+ A A- |
4.0 4.0 3.7 |
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Good |
B+ B B- |
3.3 3.0 2.7 |
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Satisfactory |
C+ C C- |
2.3 2.0 1.7 |
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Poor Minimal Pass |
D+ D |
1.3 1.0 |
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Failure |
F |
0 |
LATE PENALTIES, PLAGIARISM
& ACADEMIC HONESTY:
Late assignments: It is your responsibility to inform
the instructor as soon as it becomes clear that your work will be late. If you
do not communicate in advance, and your reason for being late does not also
explain this lack of communication, then you should be prepared to be penalized
X% per day.
Plagiarism
& Academic Dishonesty: The University of Alberta is committed to
the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with
these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the
University in this respect. Students are
particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of
Student Behaviour (online at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633
) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of
cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an
offence. Academic dishonesty is a
serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the
University. An important excerpt from
the Code of Student Behaviour is appended at the end of this syllabus.
Additional information and resources are available through the UofA’s Truth in Education project: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/TIE/
. (Note:
All but the last two sentences of this statement must appear in all syllabi.)
SPECIALIZED SUPPORT &
DISABILITY SERVICES:
Students with disabilities or special needs that might interfere with their performance should contact the professor at the beginning of the course with the appropriate documentation. Every effort will be made to accommodate such students, but in all cases prior arrangements must be made to ensure that any special needs can be met in a timely fashion and in such a way that the rest of the class is not put at an unfair disadvantage. Students requiring special support or services should be registered with the office of Specialized Support & Disability Services (SSDS): http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/SSDS/. This is particularly important for students requiring special exam arrangements. Once you have registered with SSDS, it is your responsibility to provide the instructor with a "Letter of Introduction" and, if necessary, an "Exam Instruction & Authorization" form.
FEELING OVERWHELMED? (In
need of student, social, financial or security services?):
The Student Distress Centre is there to listen, offer support, supply information and provide services:
Excerpts from the Code of Student
Behaviour
(updated effective APRIL, 2008)
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30.3.2(1) Plagiarism No Student shall submit the words, ideas,
images or data of another person as the Student’s own in any academic
writing, essay, thesis, project, assignment, presentation or poster in a
course or program of study. 30.3.2(2) Cheating
30.3.2(2) a No
Student shall in the course of an examination or other similar activity,
obtain or attempt to obtain information from another Student or other
unauthorized source, give or attempt to give information to another Student,
or use, attempt to use or possess for the purposes of use any unauthorized material.
30.3.2(2) b No Student shall represent or attempt to represent him or herself as another or have or attempt to have himself or herself represented by another in the taking of an examination, preparation of a paper or other similar activity. See also misrepresentation in 30.3.6 (4). 30.3.2(2) c No Student shall represent another’s
substantial editorial or compositional assistance on an assignment as the
Student’s own work. 30.3.2(2) d No Student shall submit in any course or
program of study, without the written approval of the course Instructor, all
or a substantial portion of any academic writing, essay, thesis, research
report, project, assignment, presentation or poster for which credit has
previously been obtained by the Student or which has been or is being
submitted by the Student in another course or program of study in the
University or elsewhere. |
30.3.2(2) e No Student shall submit in any course or
program of study any academic writing, essay, thesis, report, project, assignment,
presentation or poster containing a statement of fact known by the Student to
be false or a reference to a source the Student knows to contain fabricated
claims (unless acknowledged by the Student), or a fabricated reference to a
source. 30.3.6(4) Misrepresentation
of Facts No Student shall misrepresent pertinent facts to any member of the University community for the purpose of obtaining academic or other advantage. See also 30.3.2(2) b, c, d and e. 30.3.6(5) Participation in an Offence No Student shall counsel or encourage or knowingly aid or assist, directly or indirectly, another person in the commission of any offence under this Code.
The Truth In Education (T*I*E) project is a campus wide educational campaign on Academic
Honesty. This program was created to
let people know the limits and consequences of inappropriate academic behavior. There are helpful tips for Instructors and
Students. Please take the time to visit the website at: http://www.ualberta.ca/tie |