Differences, Inequalities and the Politics of Law

The course aims at introducing students to philosophical debates on social justice with a focus on three topics: economic inequality, gender oppression and the discipline of sexuality. Special attention will be paid to the analysis of relevant concepts and to the discussion of the potentials and limits of legal reform in promoting social change.

At the end of the course students should have acquired:
- knowledge of the main positions in current philosophical debates on economic inequality, including a better understanding of the concepts and different interpretations of equality of opportunity, meritocracy, distributive justice, and structural injustices;
- knowledge of the main positions in current philosophical debates on gender oppression and the discipline of sexuality, including a better understanding of the concepts of sex, gender, gender identity, and of their relations;
- capability to apply acquired knowledge and understanding to the discussion of solutions to problems of economic inequality, gender oppression, and discipline of sexuality, with special attention to proposals for legal reform.
In order to exercise their learning, critical and communication skills, students will be required to read texts, to discuss them and to express and defend personal opinions.