Contemporary Theories of Justice | PAIR2050

Module overview

The aim of this module is to familiarise you with several important, but competing, theories of justice. Such theories give guidance on important questions of distributive justice (who ought to get what, when and why?), and provide, to varying degrees, grounds for the condemnation of real-world injustices. It also engages with important methodological debates about how we should theorise about justice, and what status the results of our reflection should be seen as having. On completing the module, you will be expected to have a good understanding of some important recent theories of justice, the various difficulties they face, and the contested methodological territories on which they are staked out.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

A range of contemporary views on the nature and demands of justice

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Assess written arguments

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Produce detailed and considered normative arguments, in written form

Syllabus

The module discusses the contributions contemporary political theory has made to thinking about questions of distributive justice. Indicative issues might include:

Rawls’s theory of justice
Cohen’s critique of Rawls
Nozick and right-libertarianism
Dworkin and luck egalitarianism
Left-libertarianism
Marxism and the critique of exploitation
Iris Young on oppression

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

2 hours of lectures per week. All will be recorded and posted on Blackboard. Lectures will be delivered either face to face or online only depending upon University and Public Health England Guidance at the time. Total of 24 hours of lectures (2 hours per week X 12 weeks) per module.

Weekly student participation in online discussion boards. 1 hour per week delivered asynchronously. (1 hour X 12 weeks)

Study time
Type	Hours
Independent Study	114
Teaching	36
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

J. Rawls (1971). A Theory of Justice Type. Harvard University Press.

W.Kymlicka. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction.

M. Clayton and A. Williams (Eds.). Social Justice.

C. Farrelly (2003). An Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory. Sage.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Research project	50%
Research proposal	25%
Discussion board activity	25%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Exam	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Exam	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External