I module: After a brief introduction to contemporary theories of justice, the course deals with the following issues: Why is the family considered non ‘political’ in most of contemporary theory of justice?
II Module: After an introduction to theories of tolerance and theories of multiculturalism, the course will try to answer to the following questions: What challenges does multiculturalism pose to feminism?
III Module: Introduction to global theories of Justice: Rawls, Pogge, Benhabib.
Attending students will receive all the necessary information on the materials for the exam at the beginning of the course.
Texts for non attending students:
I module:
1)S. Veca, La filosofia politica, Laterza, Bari 2005.
2)You can choose one texts among the following:
S. M. Okin, Justice, Gender and the Family, Basic Books Group 1989.
M. Fineman, The Autonomy Myth, The New Press, New York-London 2004.
II module:
1)M. L. Lanzillo, Multiculturalismo, Laterza, Bari
2)You can choose one texts among the following:
S. M. Okin, Is Multiculturalism bad for women, Princeton University Press 1999.
C. Talpade Mohanty, Feminism without borders, Duke University Press 2004.
III module:
You can choose one texts among the following:
S. Benhabib, The Rights of Others, Cambridge University Press 2004.
T. Pogge, World Poverty and Human Rights, Polity press 2008.
J. Rawls, The Laws of People, Harvard University Press 1999.
Learning Objectives
The course has two aims: the first is to introduce students to contemporary applied political philosophy; the second is to help them develop their critical and argumentative skills.
Prerequisites
Better to have passed the exam of History of Political doctrines.
Teaching Methods
60 hours frontal lessons and 12 hours seminars. Attending students are invited to present short written paper and to present and discuss them in class.
Further information
Type of Assessment
Written exam
Course program
I Module
After a brief introduction to contemporary theories of justice, the course deals with the following issues: Why is the family considered non ‘political’ in most of contemporary theory of justice? Why is it not discussed in most of political theory today? Why have political theories often used to distinguished between private and public sphere? Contemporary society went through many fundamental changes (from divorce, to sexual revolution and women emancipation, to new reproductive technologies and gay liberation). Many today no longer believe that “family” is only the heterosexual conjugal family. What is family today? Is it possible to imagine a just and democratic family? Ho does political theory deal with the problem of care work and social reproduction? What rights do children have?
II Module: After an introduction to theories of tolerance and theories of multiculturalism, the course will try to answer to the following questions: What challenges does multiculturalism pose to feminism? What is feminism? What are differences between Western Feminism and Post-colonial-Feminism?
III Module: Introduction to global theories of Justice: Rawls, Pogge, Benhabib. How do global justice theories deal with the issue of migration. What are care drain and brain drain? Do they pose a problem in terms of justice?