Latest Module Specifications
Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Description This module introduces students to contemporary debates in social and political philosophy. Framed by traditional philosophical considerations of justice and equality, with reference to the work of John Rawls, Michael Sandel, Martha Nussbaum, Amartya Sen, Bernard Williams and Ronald Dworkin, students are introduced to core themes of i) social power, ii) care and autonomy, iii) human rights & social justice, and iv) solidarity. Contemporary political commitments including UN Sustainable Development Goals, UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as Judith Butler’s consideration of grievability (2009, 2013) and Michael Marmot’s consideration of Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity (2015, 2020) will be critical analysed through the lenses offered by the four themes. This module aims to equip students to interrogate contemporary discourses and to consider institutional, political and conceptual barriers to transformative local and global societies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Learning Outcomes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml
Indicative Content and Learning Activities
| HDE1024 Social Philosophies of Justice, Care and Solidarity Introduction: ▪ Students are invited to consider influential approaches to discussions in Justice and Equality. Theorists considered include Rawls, Sandel, Nussbaum, Sen, Williams and Dworkin Theme 1: Social Power ▪ Students are introduced to Foucault’s work on Governmentality, Bio-Power and Biopolitics. ▪ Applied consideration of the offer of social power in relation to work at the WHO and in England on Social Determinants of Health Theme 2: Care and Autonomy ▪ Students are introduced to debates in political and legal philosophy on self-determination, decision-making capacity and autonomy, alongside sociological and philosophical literature on institutions and care. ▪ Applied consideration of discourses on care and autonomy in respect to the UNCRPD and the Irish Assisted-Decision Making Capacity Act (2015) Theme 3: Social Justice and Human Rights ▪ Students are introduced to contemporary debates about the opportunity and limitations of human rights discourses and the invitation offered by social justice and structural injustice discourses. ▪ Students will consider the relevance of these discourses of justice in respect to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Theme 4: Solidarity ▪ Students are invited to examine rival perspectives on solidarity and its relevance in the social world. ▪ Drawing on these respective approaches, students will analyse Judith Butler’s work on Grievability.
Indicative Reading List | Books:
Articles:
Other Resources | None
|
| | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||