PLT3120

Justice, Rights and Difference ( 6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL)

Leader: Paul Muldoon

Offered:
Clayton Second semester 2005 (Day)

Synopsis: This unit provides a critical examination of contemporary debates about ideas of justice, rights and the politics of difference. It critically explores Rawls's seminal theory of justice and then proceeds through a critical examination of the major critiques of, and alternative to, liberal justice by socialist, communitarian, feminist, and postmodern theorists. The theoretical arguments about justice and rights are analysed and applied in relation to a range of contemporary political problems concerning class, ethnicity/indigeneity, gender and multiculturalism.

Assessment: Essay (2500 words): 50% + Examination (2 hours): 50% + Third-year students will be expected to demonstrate wider reading and greater understanding by answering at least one exam questions of a higher conceptual standard than required of second-year students.

Contact Hours: 2 hours (1 x 1 hour lecture and 1 x 1 hour tutorial) per week

Prerequisites: A first-year sequence in Politics or permission.