| Unit name | Global Justice |
|---|---|
| Unit code | POLI20010 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Alix Dietzel |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why Is This Unit Important?
This unit aims to explore key debates concerning the scope of justice, the validity of thinking about justice and at the global level, and the application of global justice arguments to key problems threatening global cohabitation. Students will be given the opportunity to communicate their views on these problems by applying academic and wider evidence in both a traditional academic essay and an academic blog piece, which will sharpen their communication skills.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This is a political theory unit, which fits in with the programme of study of complementary political theory and international relations teaching and learning. The unit also addresses current global issues, which allows students to explore current events they might have learned about in other units in a new way. It equips students with important communication skills, both in a formal academic paper and an academic blog article.
An Overview of the Content
Part One (weeks 1-4) provides a conceptual foundation for the unit, exploring the roots of global justice, key proponents of the approach, fundamental questions shaping the practice of global justice, as well as criticisms of the notion of global justice and ethics.
Part Two (weeks 5-10) of the course explores the conceptual issues framing global justice and human rights within the context of specific empirical case studies, examining key global problems, including global governance, poverty, gender inequality, climate change, refugees, and non-human animal rights.
How Will Students, Personally, Be Different as a Result of the Unit
This course will instil in students a deep knowledge of global justice, global cohabitation problems and widen their sense of global responsibility. They will be able to confidently apply academic argument and evidence to make a clear case for what matters morally to them.
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Lectures and Seminars: attendance at weekly one-hour lectures and two-hour seminars; participation in small-group and pair discussions; contribution to discussions and debates in the wider seminar group; contribution to weekly group-led tasks in seminars.
Individual and Asynchronous Learning: weekly essential and recommended readings (from the Talis list); assessment planning and writing; email consultations with the lecturer/seminar tutor; attendance at office hours.
This unit focuses on applying academic arguments about global justice to contemporary global cohabitation issues. The weekly lectures and core readings introduce students to the literature on global justice, including applied work and critics of the discipline (ILO 1). In the seminars, we focus week-to-week on global cohabitation issues and the students gain an in depth understanding of both current global governance structures and the literature that problematizes these and offers solutions, while providing the students room to put forward their own ideas in a group setting (ILO 2). The students are supported to do independent research, both through the wider reading list and current event reporting, to prepare for their assessments, for which they will receive support in the seminars as well as over email and in office hours (ILO 3). The first assessment encourages them to apply what they have learned and communicate this in an academic blog piece aimed at well informed non-experts, and the second encourages them to produce an analytical piece aimed at those embedded in the discipline (ILO 3).
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Students will be encouraged to submit plans for their two summative assessments, for which they will receive informal feedback from seminar tutors.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
1x 1000 word academic blog (25%) - ILO 1, 2, 3. The blog is pitched at The Conversation, focusing on an issue of global just relevant to the unit, and engaging with literature from the unit to form part of their evidence base.
1x 2000 word essay (75%) - ILO 1, 2, 3.
When assessment does not go to plan:
You will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. You will be required to complete a different assessment question.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. POLI20010).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
