printer friendly pagePOLISCI 133Z: Ethics and Politics in Public Service (CSRE 133P, PUBLPOL 103Z, URBANST 122Z)
This course examines ethical and political questions that arise in doing public service work, whether volunteering, service learning, humanitarian endeavors overseas, or public service professions such as medicine and teaching. What motives do people have to engage in public service work? Are self-interested motives troublesome? What is the connection between service work and justice? Should the government or schools require citizens or students to perform service work? Is mandatory service an oxymoron?
Terms: Sum
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors:
Coyne, B. (PI)
;
Cloward, J. (TA)
POLISCI 134: Ethics for Activists (ETHICSOC 134)
Activists devote sustained effort and attention toward achieving particular goals of social and political change. Do we have an ethical obligation to be activists? And how should those who do choose to be activists (for whatever reason) understand the ethics of that role? Questions discussed in this course may include: When is civil disobedience appropriate, and what does it entail? Should activists feel constrained by obligations of fairness, honesty, or civility toward those with whom we disagree? Are there special ethical considerations in activism on behalf of those who cannot advocate for themselves? What is solidarity and what does it require of us? Students in this course will develop skills in analyzing, evaluating, and constructing logical arguments about ethical concerns related to activism, but class discussions will also address the potential limitations of logical argument in ethical and political reasoning.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors:
Chapman, E. (PI)
;
O'Bryan, J. (TA)
POLISCI 134E: Universal Basic Income: the philosophy behind the proposal (ETHICSOC 174B, ETHICSOC 274B, PHIL 174B, PHIL 274B, POLISCI 338)
Universal basic income (or UBI) is a regular cash allowance given to all members of a community without means test, regardless of personal desert, and with no strings attached. Once a utopian proposal, the policy is now discussed and piloted throughout the world. The growth of income and wealth inequalities, the precariousness of labor, and the persistence of abject poverty have all been important drivers of renewed interest in UBI in the United States. But it is without a doubt the fear that automation may displace workers from the labor market at unprecedented rates that explains the revival of the policy in recent years, including by many in or around Silicon Valley. Among the various objections to the proposal, one concerns its moral adequacy: Isn't it fundamentally unjust to give cash to all indiscriminately rather than to those who need it and deserve it? Over the years, a variety of scholars have defended the policy on moral grounds, arguing that UBI is a tool of equality, liberal freedom, republican freedom, gender equity, or racial equity. Many others have attacked UBI on those very same grounds, making the case that alternative policy proposals like the job guarantee, means-tested benefits, conditional benefits, or reparations should be preferred. Students will learn a great deal about political theory and ethics in general but always through the specific angle of the policy proposal, and they will become experts on the philosophy, politics and economics of UBI. The seminar is open to undergraduate and graduate students in all departments. There are no pre-requisites.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
| Repeatable
for credit
POLISCI 134L: Introduction to Environmental Ethics (ETHICSOC 178M, ETHICSOC 278M, PHIL 178M, PHIL 278M)
How should human beings relate to the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? The first part of this course will examine such questions in light of some of our current ethical theories: considering what those theories suggest regarding the extent and nature of our environmental obligations; and also whether reflection on such obligations can prove informative about the adequacy of our ethical theories. In the second part of the course, we will use the tools that we have acquired to tackle various ethical questions that confront us in our dealings with the natural world, looking at subjects such as: animal rights; conservation; economic approaches to the environment; access to and control over natural resources; environmental justice and pollution; climate change; technology and the environment; and environmental activism.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Adams, M. (PI)
POLISCI 134P: Contemporary Moral Problems (ETHICSOC 185M, PHIL 72)
This course is an introduction to contemporary ethical thought with a focus on the morality of harming others and saving others from harm. It aims to develop students' ability to think carefully and rationally about moral issues, to acquaint them with modern moral theory, and to encourage them to develop their own considered positions about important real-world issues. In the first part of the course, we will explore fundamental topics in the ethics of harm. Among other questions, we will ask: How extensive are one's moral duties to improve the lives of the less fortunate? When is it permissible to inflict harm on others for the sake of the greater good? Does the moral permissibility of a person's action depend on her intentions? Can a person be harmed by being brought into existence? In the second part of the course, we will turn to practical questions. Some of these will be familiar; for example: Is abortion morally permissible? What obligations do we have to protect the planet for the sake of future generations? Other questions we will ask are newer and less well-trodden. These will include: How does the availability of new technology, in particular artificial intelligence, change the moral landscape of the ethics of war? What moral principles should govern the programming and operation of autonomous vehicles?
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Karhu, T. (PI)
POLISCI 135: Citizenship (ETHICSOC 135, PHIL 135X)
This class begins from the core definition of citizenship as membership in a political community and explores the many debates about what that membership means. Who is (or ought to be) a citizen? Who gets to decide? What responsibilities come with citizenship? Is being a citizen analogous to being a friend, a family member, a business partner? How can citizenship be gained, and can it ever be lost? These debates figure in the earliest recorded political philosophy but also animate contemporary political debates. This class uses ancient, medieval, and modern texts to examine these questions and different answers given over time. We¿Äôll pay particular attention to understandings of democratic citizenship but look at non-democratic citizenship as well. Students will develop and defend their own views on these questions, using the class texts as foundations. No experience with political philosophy is required or expected, and students can expect to learn or hone the skills (writing / reading / analysis) of political philosophy.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Coyne, B. (PI)
;
Chang, S. (TA)
;
Panchakunathorn, P. (TA)
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Instructors:
Coyne, B. (PI)
;
Chang, S. (TA)
;
Panchakunathorn, P. (TA)
;
Parreira, C. (TA)
;
Seaford, A. (TA)
POLISCI 135D: The Ethics of Democratic Citizenship (ETHICSOC 135R)
We usually think about democratic citizenship in terms of rights and opportunities, but are these benefits of democracy accompanied by special obligations? Do citizens of a democracy have an obligation to take an interest in politics and to actively influence political decision making? How should citizens respond when a democracy¿s laws become especially burdensome? Do citizens of a democracy have a special obligation to obey the law? In this course, we will read classical and contemporary political philosophy including Plato's Crito and King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to explore how political thinkers have understood and argued for the ethics of citizenship. Students in this course will draw on these materials to construct their own arguments, and to identify and assess implicit appeals to the ethics of citizenship in popular culture and contemporary public discourse, from The Simpsons to President Obama's speeches.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
POLISCI 135E: Philosophy of Public Policy (ETHICSOC 175X, PHIL 175B, PHIL 275B, POLISCI 235E, PUBLPOL 177)
From healthcare to voting reforms, social protection and educational policies, public policies are underpinned by moral values. When we debate those policies, we typically appeal to values like justice, fairness, equality, freedom, privacy, and safety. A proper understanding of those values, what they mean, how they may conflict, and how they can be weighed against each other is essential to developing a competent and critical eye on our complex political world. We will ask questions such as: Is compulsory voting justified? Should children have the right to vote? Is affirmative action just? What is wrong with racial profiling? What are the duties of citizens of affluent countries towards migrants? Do we have a right to privacy? Is giving cash to all unconditionally fair? This class will introduce students to a number of methods and frameworks coming out of ethics and political philosophy and will give students a lot of time to practice ethically informed debates on public policies. At the end of this class, students should have the skills to critically examine a wide range of diverse policy proposals from the perspective of ethics, moral and political philosophy. There are no prerequisites. Undergraduates and graduates from all departments are welcome to attend.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors:
Bidadanure, J. (PI)
;
Hauthaler, N. (TA)
POLISCI 136R: Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, INTNLREL 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 336)
This course explores the normative demands and definitions of justice that transcend the nation-state and its borders, through the lenses of political justice, economic justice, and human rights. What are our duties (if any) towards those who live in other countries? Should we be held morally responsible for their suffering? What if we have contributed to it? Should we be asked to remedy it? At what cost? These are some of the questions driving the course. Although rooted in political theory and philosophy, the course will examine contemporary problems that have been addressed by other scholarly disciplines, public debates, and popular media, such as immigration and open borders, climate change refugees, and the morality of global capitalism (from exploitative labor to blood diamonds). As such, readings will combine canonical pieces of political theory and philosophy with readings from other scholarly disciplines, newspaper articles, and popular media.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Blajer de la Garza, Y. (PI)
;
D'Angelo, L. (TA)
POLISCI 137A: Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition (ETHICSOC 176, PHIL 176, PHIL 276, POLISCI 337A)
(Graduate students register for 276.) Why and under what conditions do human beings need political institutions? What makes them legitimate or illegitimate? What is the nature, source, and extent of the obligation to obey the legitimate ones, and how should people alter or overthrow the others? Study of the answers given to such questions by major political theorists of the early modern period: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant.
Last offered: Winter 2019
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
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