This course offers a rich grounding in moral, social, and political philosophy with a focus on questions concerning 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 institutions in light of how they affect people. These institutions include laws and other social rules governing what kinds of goods can be owned by whom and how they are distributed, how markets and production systems are structured, what prospects various groups have, and, in general, how people pursue the good in their lives. The course will explore questions of institutional design and public policy in the context of real-world social injustices including social and material inequality; racial, gender, and sexuality-based oppression; and climate change. The course will also look at practical questions related to advancing social justice including civil disobedience, duties to assist victims of injustice and to fight for structural social change, the role of democracy in furthering social justice.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills 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; and,
5. engage in philosophical discussion and debate, verbalising their interpretations and criticisms of the various ideas discussed throughout the course.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Justice and Morality: Social Structure as The Subject of Justice - In this introductory lecture, we will explore the notion of social justice and the divide between moral and political philosophy. We will look at some real-world examples of social injustice and discuss their structural causes.
2	Utilitarianism as a Theory of Justice - Prior to the publication of Rawls’s “A Theory of Justice” in 1971, utilitarianism ruled political philosophy in the English-speaking world and still remains a major influence. We will look at key utilitarian ideas as applied to social justice.
3	Justice as Fairness - We will look at John Rawls’s principles of justice and his arguments for them and against utilitarianism.
4	Rawls’s Egalitarianism -We will look in more detail at Rawls’s notions of fair equality of opportunity and the difference principle, the idea that material inequalities are justified only insofar as they maximally benefit the worst off.	First reading response essay due.
5	Nozick’s Libertarianism and Critique of Rawls-?Do egalitarian institutions impermissibly interfere with individuals’ rights? Is taxation theft? We will look and Nozick’s libertarian theory of justice and evaluate his critique of Rawls.
6	Justice, Family, and Women: Feminist Critiques of Rawls-Our institutions and social practices systematically disadvantage women. Can Rawls’s theory adequately thematise this pervasive social injustice? How do his principles of justice apply to the institution of family, and do they? We will look at and evaluate feminist critiques of Rawls’s theory.	Second reading response essay due.
7	Justice and Oppression: Critiques of the Distributive Paradigm -Rawls’ principles of justice are defended on the basis of how a society governed by them would distribute certain goods: things like liberty, wealth, etc. But is social justice really and only about distributing such goods? We will explore and critically examine the idea that such “distributive paradigm” doesn’t fully capture many important forms of social injustice.
8	The Right and the Good: Rawls and Liberal Neutrality -Rawls’s theory of justice purports to be impartial between various conceptions of the good life: justice is about organising our basic social institutions according to certain political ideals, but has nothing to say about how one should live one’s life within those institutions. But isn’t that itself a contested conception of the good life? Moreover, shouldn’t social justice be partial to certain important goods such as environmental health and solidarity?
9	Ideal and Non-ideal Theory -What role can theories of justice play in advancing social justice in the real world? Rawls thought that laying out an “ideal” theory is the only way to systematically approach that task. But is that so? Does his theory abstract from the real world too much to be of any use in our actual struggles in non-ideal circumstances? Do we need a theory of justice at all to know how to make our society more just?	Third reading response essay due.
10	Civil Disobedience-On the one hand, the rule of law is a cornerstone of justice in modern context. On the other, civil disobedience has been a major means through which people have exerted pressure on their governments to address social injustices. So does social justice require us to both obey and disobey the law? When and why ought we to engage in civil disobedience in the fight for social justice?
11	Duties to Address Injustice: Structural Change and Direct Assistance to Victims -Our world is full of grave injustices. What duties do various agents have to address them and on what grounds? Should we focus on assisting the current victims or on structural social change?	Major research essay due
12	Justice and Democracy -A Rawlsian just society is a democracy. A democracy, however, is not necessarily socially just. Yet, perhaps democracy, suitably construed, can be instrumental in achieving social justice? We will explore the link between these two central ideals of political philosophy and theory, democracy and justice.
13	EXAM	Take-home exam due

Tutorial Registration

On Wattle

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Learning Outcomes
Participation (forum posts and peer feedback)	10 %	*	1,2,3,4,5
Short Reading Response Essay 1	5 %	17/08/2020	1,2,3,4
Short Reading Response Essay 2	5 %	07/09/2020	1,2,3,4
Short Reading Response Essay 3	5 %	05/10/2020	1,2,3,4
Major Research Essay (2300 words)	45 %	20/10/2020	1,2,3,4
Take-home exam (1700 words)	30 %	11/11/2020	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Participation marking criteria:

Outstanding contributor: Contributions in class reflect extensive preparation. Ideas offered are usually substantive; provide major insights and direction for class discussion. Challenges are substantiated and persuasive. Makes an important contribution to class discussion overall. (HD)

Good contributor: Contributions in class reflect thorough preparation. Ideas offered are often substantive; provide useful insights and some direction for class discussion. Challenges are substantiated and often persuasive. Makes a significant contribution to class discussion overall. (D)

Adequate contributor: Contributions in class reflect adequate preparation. Ideas offered are sometimes substantive; provide some insight but rarely offer direction for class discussion. Challenges are sometimes presented, substantiated and persuasive. Makes a contribution to class discussion overall. (CR)

Unsatisfactory contributor: Contributions in class reflect inadequate preparation. Ideas offered are rarely substantive; rarely provide insight but do not offer useful direction for class discussion. Contributions may be distractions rather than constructive. Does not make a positive contribution to class discussion overall. (P)

Non-participant: This person says little or nothing in class. There is not an adequate basis for evaluation. Makes no contribution to discussion. (F)

In order to get participation marks, students are required to bring their reading responses to tutorials and participate in the peer feedback activity (see Assessment Task 1).

Assessment Task 1

Participation (forum posts and peer feedback)

Every week, students must (1) post their written reflections to the online discussion board and (2) comment on others’ posts:

(1) Written reflections

Every week, starting from week 2,  you’ll be given questions. You’ll need to post your written reflections (200-300 words) on one of these questions by Wednesday COB of the week of your tutorial on the topic. These posts are not graded but contribute to your overall participation mark. You’ll need to make these posts every week, although you can skip two without negative effect on your participation mark. You do need to post by Wednesday COB to give enough time for others to comment—peer feedback and discussion is one of the points of this exercise.

 

Treat these posts as (non-committal) drafts for the three reading responses you’ll submit for grading later (see assessments 2-4). Same guidelines apply, with one qualification: these are really drafts, the point is for you to start thinking about the topic and start developing your own ideas. So don’t be afraid to experiment and be creative (of course, you should still aim to express your ideas clearly and succinctly).

 

(2) Peer feedback

Every week, starting from week 2, you’ll need to comment on two discussion board posts made that week by others in your tutorial group. You must submit this feedback by Friday COB of the week of your tutorial on the topic. These comments are not graded but contribute to your overall participation mark. As with your own posts, you’ll need to give this feedback every week, although you can skip two without negative effect on your participation mark.

 

Important guidelines for giving feedback:

-      BE KIND. You can and must be critical, but do it respectfully and constructively. Imagine you’re giving this feedback face-to-face to a friend who’s asking for help with their assignment. The discussion board is a safe space where everyone should be comfortable to express their ideas. Rude and inappropriate comments will be removed and their authors penalised.

-      The aim is NOT to show off your own brilliance (your own posts serve that purpose). The aim is to help your interlocutor to improve their draft. Choose your words and what to focus on accordingly.

-      Always comment on posts that have the least number of comments so far. Ideally every post every week should get at least 1 comment from someone.

-      If you feel generous or excited enough to write pages and pages of comments, go for it. But you don’t have to address every single issue that comes to your mind. The most helpful feedback often focuses on just one or two MOST IMPORTANT issues—ones where significant improvements can be made.

-      Give feedback with the marking criteria in mind. We’ll go through this in more detail in our first tutorial.

These weekly tasks aren't as much extra work as it might seem. In preparing them, you'll be doing the work you'd have to do anyway to properly engage with each week’s topic (and thus be prepared for the exam!). Moreover, you’ll be doing much of the work you’d need to do anyway for your graded reading responses—you can submit your chosen drafts (revised if needed) as your reading responses (see below). Besides, in giving feedback, you’re putting yourself in the marker’s shoes—this will help you (a lot!) to do well in your major essay and take-home exam (you’ll have first-hand knowledge of what we, the markers, are looking for and what makes for pleasant and annoying writing).

If you’ve done what’s required above, you’ll receive a full participation mark (100%). The mark will be decreased if you've missed more that two weeks of participation on the discussion board, or if your posts are not genuine attempts to engage with the material (in other words, waffling and irrelevant musings won't count).

Assessment Task 2

Short Reading Response Essay 1

Choose a question from Weeks 1-2 and submit a short response to it through Turnitin. The questions will be provided on Wattle. Word limit: 300. You're welcome (indeed, encouraged!) to use one of the drafts you posted on the discussion board as the basis for this essay—just revise and polish it (if needed) to incorporate the peer feedback and insights gained in tutorial discussions.

Marking criteria and guidelines for writing essays will be available on Wattle.

Assessment Task 3

Short Reading Response Essay 2

Choose a question from Weeks 3-5 and submit a short response to it through Turnitin. The questions will be provided on Wattle. Word limit: 300. You're welcome (indeed, encouraged!) to use one of the drafts you posted on the discussion board as the basis for this essay—just revise and polish it (if needed) to incorporate the peer feedback and insights gained in tutorial discussions.

Marking criteria and guidelines for writing essays will be available on Wattle.

Assessment Task 4

Short Reading Response Essay 3

Choose a question from Weeks 6-7 and submit a short response to it through Turnitin. The questions will be provided on Wattle. Word limit: 300. You're welcome (indeed, encouraged!) to use one of the drafts you posted on the discussion board as the basis for this essay—just revise and polish it (if needed) to incorporate the peer feedback and insights gained in tutorial discussions.

Marking criteria and guidelines for writing essays will be available on Wattle.

Assessment Task 5

Major Research Essay (2300 words)

Students will be required to write a research essay in response to a question of their choice (Research essay questions will be provided on Wattle). Students will have received feedback on all of their short response essays prior to submitting the research essay.

Marking criteria and guidelines for writing essays will be available on Wattle.

Assessment Task 6

Take-home exam (1700 words)

The course will finish with a take-home examination. You will have received feedback on all other assignments prior to the exam. You will have a one-day window (24 hours) in which to complete it. As a guide, it should take you around three hours if you've consistently done all readings and attended lectures and tutorials throughout the semester.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

Hard copy submission is allowed only if approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Assignments will be returned via Turnitin

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students