Undergraduate - UnitATS2868 - Issues in political theory

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	Philosophy
Offered	Not offered in 2015
Coordinator(s)	TBA

Synopsis

The unit will discuss theories of liberty, equality and justice, and the role of the state in promoting these values. When are inequalities of income and wealth just? Are liberty and equality compatible? Can a secure foundation be provided for individual rights and liberties? Must liberty take priority over other values? These issues will be discussed mainly in the light of the work of contemporary political philosophers, but some reference will also be made to classical thinkers.

Outcomes

Students completing the subject will have an understanding of the various suggested foundations of property rights, and the nature of disagreements about the role of the state in redistribution of income and wealth, and in protecting property rights.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 60%
Exam: 40%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Assoc. Prof. Karen Green

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Human rights
Philosophy
Bioethics

Prerequisites

Twelve credit points of first-year Arts units.

Prohibitions

ATS3868