- Spring 2021
Additional Details:
Video: Phil 207/Ethics 207/Pol S 217 Course Introduction
In the 21st century, issues of justice often transcend national borders. This course will introduce you to some of these pressing issues – and to a variety of disciplinary approaches that are useful in understanding them. After a brief introduction to moral reasoning and reasoning about justice, this course will address a number of issues of global justice, including but not limited to:
Global poverty and aid: Do the wealthy nations have an obligation to help the world’s poor? If so, what should they do? Should there be special attention to the status of women in developing countries?
Immigration: Should everyone in the world have a right to move to any place they would like to live? What kinds of limits on immigration, if any, can be justified?
Climate change: What obligations, if any, do the nations of the developed world have to prevent or alleviate climate change? What obligations, if any, do the nations of the less developed world have?
Colonialism and Slavery: Do colonial powers owe anything to any of their former colonies? Do former slave holding societies owe reparation to the descendants of their former slaves?
Students will use Poll Everywhere to respond to questions in lecture, will do shorter writing assignments in section and will write two 4-5 page papers and a final exam. Satisfies I&S requirement and the context course requirement for the Human Rights Minor.
Course readings will be available in Canvas