POL36170 Respecting Diversity

Academic Year 2024/2025

There is a widely and strongly held commitment to treat people with equal respect and concern. However, people disagree about what respect and concern requires and thus what it means to show them in equal measure. The course provides an overview of normative approaches to diversity in political theory, with particular focus on the debates in analytic philosophy. We discuss the reasoning underlying as well as important critiques of liberal impartiality, liberal multiculturalism, relevant streams of discourse theory and deliberative democracy as well as more radical critiques such as e.g. agonism.

Show/hide contentOpenClose All

Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course students will:
be familiar with some of the basic theories on respecting diversity,
be able to critically assess the arguments for and against different understandings of respect for diversity,
understand the role of difference in different contemporary theories of justice,
develop transferable skills including critical argument analysis, respectful debate, and communicating complex ideas clearly.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

12
Seminar (or Webinar)

12
Autonomous Student Learning

176
Total

200
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Teaching and learning activities will require students to engage with current academic research and link theories of justice to specific moral questions and judgements.
Though classroom discussions, activities, and essay writing students will examine how scholarly research on theories of respecting diversity deepens our understanding of real-world social and political practices.
Participants will be expected to prepare thoroughly for each of the classes, particularly engaging closely with the required readings, and allocate a substantial amount of time to the completion of assessment work outside the classroom hours.
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment(Including Essay): 3000 word normative political theory essay n/a Graded No

55
Quizzes/Short Exercises: There will be weekly quizzes on the required readings. n/a Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No

20
Individual Project: Presentation of your chosen research puzzle in writing, as podcast, or as video presentation. n/a Graded No

25

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Group/class Feedback, pre-assessment in terms of detailed rubric Feedback individually to students, post-assessment, with reference to rubric Group/class feedback, post-assessment In line with university policy students will be provided with feedback within 20 days of the deadline for submitting the assignment.