This course is intended to offer a rich grounding in moral, social and political philosophy and is relevant to questions in social justice.  Students will engage in a critical analysis of contemporary theories of social justice. Such theories advance principles for the moral assessment of social arrangements in light of how they affect people. These institutions include laws and other social rules governing what kinds of things can be owned (and by whom), how they can be acquired, transferred, relinquished, and forfeited, how markets and the production systems are structured, and the manner in which decisions concerning trade policy and the monetary system are made. The course will include discussion of some applied questions regarding public policy and institutional design.  

The course will be open to second and third year students in philosophy or with the permission of the lecturer. 

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. identify issues in social justice 
2. evaluate ideas and also critical responses to them in the literature related to social justice
3. discuss and analyse current issues in ethics and politics relating to social institutions
4. better understand the argumentative structures underlying many of the important papers written in the area of social justice 
5. engage in philosophical discussion and debate, verbalising their interpretations and criticisms of the various ideas discussed throughout the course.  

• tutorial participation and presentation (10%) (Learning Outcomes 1 - 5)
• 2 x short reading response essays (15%) (1 x 300 words and 1 x 600 words) (Learning Outcomes 1-2)
• research paper, 2000 words (40%) (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4)
• examination, 2 hours (35%) (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4)

2 hrs lectures (20 hours total); 1 hour of tutorial (12 tutorials total); 3 hours of independent reading per week plus preparation of assessment tasks. 

6 units of PHIL 1000 level courses, or permission of the lecturer. No incompatibility.

Capability to use basic research techniques in the humanities and social sciences; capability to write academic essays for the humanities and social sciences.

Weekly reading to support the tutorials and lectures will be made available electronically via the Wattle site.

Lecture theatre capacity to play sound and video files in various formats