Theories of Justice and Human Rights
A.Y. 2019/2020
Learning objectives
The course will provide an introduction to current philosophical debates about human rights, global justice and the legitimacy of international institutions. It aims at providing knowledge and understanding of different philosophical theories on these subjects and of their implications as regards specific issues. At the end of the course students should be able to apply the acquired knowledge and understanding in order to take actively part in discussions concerning normative aspects of global politics and policies and to form individual judgements. During the course students will be required to read texts, to discuss them and to elaborate personal opinions in order to exercise their learning, critical and communication skills.
Expected learning outcomes
Undefined
Lesson period: Second trimester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second trimester
Course syllabus
The course will be divided in two parts. Part 1 (weeks 1-5) will present philosophical debates about human rights and justice. The following topics will be discussed: What are human rights? What could justify human rights? Can human rights' claim to universal validity be justified? Which rights are human rights? Are there international and/or transnational re-sponsibilities for distributive justice? If there are, what do they require? Part 2 will be de-voted to class presentations and discussion of assigned texts on the political theory of im-migration. The following topics will be addressed: Is there a human right to immigrate? What can justify (if something) States' decisions to restrict immigration? What are States' responsibilities towards migrants in general and towards specific category of migrants?
Prerequisites for admission
No preliminary knowledge is required.
Teaching methods
The teaching activities will include lectures and class presentations and discussion of assigned texts.
For the final exam, non-attending students should study the texts listed in the Bibliography.
For the final exam, non-attending students should study the texts listed in the Bibliography.
Teaching Resources
PART 1 (Weeks 1-5)
Attention: for Part 1, non-attending students should study all the texts listed for attending students and, in addition, the texts listed only for non-attending students.
Week 1: The Theory and Reality of Human Rights
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- The International Convent on Civil and Political Rights
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- The European Convention on Human Rights (with the additional protocols)
- The European Social Charter
In addition, non-attending students should study:
- C. Beitz, The Idea of Human Rights, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009, chapter 2, "The Practice", pp. 13-47.*
Week 2: The Justification of Human Rights
- A. Dershowitz, Rights from Wrong: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights, Basic Books, New York, 2004, Introduction, parts 1 and 2, pp. 1-154.
Week 3: The Challenges to Human Rights
- Sen, A., "Elements of a Theory of Human Rights", Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 32, no. 4, 2004, pp. 315-356.*
- Sen, A., "Human Rights and Asian Values", Sixteenth Morgenthau Memorial Lecture on Eth-ics & Foreign Policy, Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, New York, 1997.*
- M. C. Nussbaum, "In Defense of Universal Values", Women and Human Development: The Fifth Annual Hesburgh Lectures on Ethics and Public Policy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 1999.*
- World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.*
In addition, non-attending students should study:
- M. Ignatieff, "Human Rights as Politics / Human Rights ad Idolatry", The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, Princeton University, Princeton, 2000.*
- J. Cohen, "Minimalism about Human Rights: The Most We Can Hope For", The Journal of Political Philosophy, vol. 12, no. 2, 2004, pp. 190-213.*
Week 4: John Rawls' Theory of Justice and Human Rights
- J. Rawls, "The Law of Peoples", in J. Rawls, The Law of Peoples. With "The Idea of Public Reason Revisited", Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA), 1999, pp. 1-128.
- C. Beitz, The Idea of Human Rights, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009, chapter 6, "Normativity", pp. 126-159.*
Week 5: Nationalism, Internationalism, Cosmopolitanism
- M. Blake, "Distributive Justice, State Coercion, and Autonomy", Philosophy and Public Af-fairs, vol. 30, no. 3, 2001, pp. 257-296.*
- T. Nagel, "The Problem of Global Justice", Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 33, no. 2, 2005, pp. 113-147.*
- A. Sangiovanni, "Global Justice, Reciprocity, and the State", Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 35, no. 1, 2007, pp. 3-39.*
- T. W. Pogge, "The International Significance of Human Rights", The Journal of Ethics, vol. 4, no. 1/2, 2000, pp. 45-69.*
- T. W. Pogge, "Real World Justice", The Journal of Ethics, vol. 9, no. 1/2, 2005, pp. 29-53.*
In addition, non-attending students should study:
- M. Blake, P. T. Smith, "International Distributive Justice", in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2015 Edition), edited by E. N. Zalta, URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/international-justice/.
PART 2 (Weeks 6-10)
For attending students, the complete list of the texts to be presented in class (one text for each student) will be provided by the end of the third week of the course. The main source for the texts will be:
- S. Fine, L. Ypi (editors), Migration in Political Theory: The Ethics of Movement and Mem-bership, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2016.
Non-attending students should study the following text:
- D. Miller, Strangers in Our Midst. The Political Philosophy of Immigration, Harvard Univer-sity Press, Cambridge (MA), 2016.
Text marked with an asterisk will be made available through the Ariel website of the course.
Attention: for Part 1, non-attending students should study all the texts listed for attending students and, in addition, the texts listed only for non-attending students.
Week 1: The Theory and Reality of Human Rights
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- The International Convent on Civil and Political Rights
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- The European Convention on Human Rights (with the additional protocols)
- The European Social Charter
In addition, non-attending students should study:
- C. Beitz, The Idea of Human Rights, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009, chapter 2, "The Practice", pp. 13-47.*
Week 2: The Justification of Human Rights
- A. Dershowitz, Rights from Wrong: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights, Basic Books, New York, 2004, Introduction, parts 1 and 2, pp. 1-154.
Week 3: The Challenges to Human Rights
- Sen, A., "Elements of a Theory of Human Rights", Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 32, no. 4, 2004, pp. 315-356.*
- Sen, A., "Human Rights and Asian Values", Sixteenth Morgenthau Memorial Lecture on Eth-ics & Foreign Policy, Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, New York, 1997.*
- M. C. Nussbaum, "In Defense of Universal Values", Women and Human Development: The Fifth Annual Hesburgh Lectures on Ethics and Public Policy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 1999.*
- World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.*
In addition, non-attending students should study:
- M. Ignatieff, "Human Rights as Politics / Human Rights ad Idolatry", The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, Princeton University, Princeton, 2000.*
- J. Cohen, "Minimalism about Human Rights: The Most We Can Hope For", The Journal of Political Philosophy, vol. 12, no. 2, 2004, pp. 190-213.*
Week 4: John Rawls' Theory of Justice and Human Rights
- J. Rawls, "The Law of Peoples", in J. Rawls, The Law of Peoples. With "The Idea of Public Reason Revisited", Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA), 1999, pp. 1-128.
- C. Beitz, The Idea of Human Rights, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009, chapter 6, "Normativity", pp. 126-159.*
Week 5: Nationalism, Internationalism, Cosmopolitanism
- M. Blake, "Distributive Justice, State Coercion, and Autonomy", Philosophy and Public Af-fairs, vol. 30, no. 3, 2001, pp. 257-296.*
- T. Nagel, "The Problem of Global Justice", Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 33, no. 2, 2005, pp. 113-147.*
- A. Sangiovanni, "Global Justice, Reciprocity, and the State", Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 35, no. 1, 2007, pp. 3-39.*
- T. W. Pogge, "The International Significance of Human Rights", The Journal of Ethics, vol. 4, no. 1/2, 2000, pp. 45-69.*
- T. W. Pogge, "Real World Justice", The Journal of Ethics, vol. 9, no. 1/2, 2005, pp. 29-53.*
In addition, non-attending students should study:
- M. Blake, P. T. Smith, "International Distributive Justice", in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2015 Edition), edited by E. N. Zalta, URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/international-justice/.
PART 2 (Weeks 6-10)
For attending students, the complete list of the texts to be presented in class (one text for each student) will be provided by the end of the third week of the course. The main source for the texts will be:
- S. Fine, L. Ypi (editors), Migration in Political Theory: The Ethics of Movement and Mem-bership, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2016.
Non-attending students should study the following text:
- D. Miller, Strangers in Our Midst. The Political Philosophy of Immigration, Harvard Univer-sity Press, Cambridge (MA), 2016.
Text marked with an asterisk will be made available through the Ariel website of the course.
Assessment methods and Criteria
In order to be considered attending student, attendance of 4/5 of the lectures (16 lectures on 20) is required.
For attending students, the final evaluation will be based on participation to class discussion, on a class presentation and on the result of a final written test.
The final mark will be established by weighting the participation, the presentation and the final test as follows: participation 25%; presentation 25 %; final test 50%.
The evaluation of participation to class discussion will be based on: (a) the frequency of participation; (b) the clarity of the speech; (c) its consistency with the object of discussion; (d) the capability to articulate a personal position and the critical attitude.
For the class presentation, to be held during the second part of the course (from week 6 to week 10), each student will be required to expose and discuss the main arguments of an assigned text. Presentations should last a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 20 minutes and should be supported by slides. The evaluation of the class presentations will be based on: (a) the clarity of the exposition; (b) the capability to identify the main arguments and the logical structure of the assigned text; (c) the capability to problematize those arguments and to elaborate a personal critical position on them.
The final written exam will be structured in eight open-ended questions on the lectures, the class presentations and the assigned texts (see Bibliography). Each answer will be given a mark from 6 to 30 (missing and completely wrong answers will get a 6) and the final mark will result from the arithmetic average of all marks. Students will have two hours to complete the written test.
For non-attending students, the final exam will consist in a mandatory written test and in an optional oral test. The written test will be structured in eight open-ended questions on the assigned texts (see Bibliography). Each answer will be given a mark from 6 to 30 (missing and completely wrong answers will get a 6) and the final mark will result from the arithmetic average of all marks. Students will have two hours to complete the written test. The oral test, that the students could choose either to take or not after receiving the result of the written test, will start from a discussion of the written test and could change its result of a maximum of two marks, for better or for worse. For students who will choose not to take the oral test, the final mark for the exam will be the mark of the written test.
For attending students, the final evaluation will be based on participation to class discussion, on a class presentation and on the result of a final written test.
The final mark will be established by weighting the participation, the presentation and the final test as follows: participation 25%; presentation 25 %; final test 50%.
The evaluation of participation to class discussion will be based on: (a) the frequency of participation; (b) the clarity of the speech; (c) its consistency with the object of discussion; (d) the capability to articulate a personal position and the critical attitude.
For the class presentation, to be held during the second part of the course (from week 6 to week 10), each student will be required to expose and discuss the main arguments of an assigned text. Presentations should last a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 20 minutes and should be supported by slides. The evaluation of the class presentations will be based on: (a) the clarity of the exposition; (b) the capability to identify the main arguments and the logical structure of the assigned text; (c) the capability to problematize those arguments and to elaborate a personal critical position on them.
The final written exam will be structured in eight open-ended questions on the lectures, the class presentations and the assigned texts (see Bibliography). Each answer will be given a mark from 6 to 30 (missing and completely wrong answers will get a 6) and the final mark will result from the arithmetic average of all marks. Students will have two hours to complete the written test.
For non-attending students, the final exam will consist in a mandatory written test and in an optional oral test. The written test will be structured in eight open-ended questions on the assigned texts (see Bibliography). Each answer will be given a mark from 6 to 30 (missing and completely wrong answers will get a 6) and the final mark will result from the arithmetic average of all marks. Students will have two hours to complete the written test. The oral test, that the students could choose either to take or not after receiving the result of the written test, will start from a discussion of the written test and could change its result of a maximum of two marks, for better or for worse. For students who will choose not to take the oral test, the final mark for the exam will be the mark of the written test.
IUS/20 - PHILOSOPHY OF LAW - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor:
Riva Nicola
Shifts:
-
Professor:
Riva NicolaProfessor(s)
Reception:
The professor meets with students weekly, on campus or online. To make an appointment, please contact the professor by email.
On-campus meetings will be held in the professor's office on the second floor of the building overlooking via Passione (room 206). Online meetings will be held through Microsoft Teams.