OVERVIEW OF COURSES
Philosophy, Society & Culture: Theories of Justice
Justice is believed to be the first virtue of social institutions. But what does it mean for a society and its social institutions to be just? Students will be introduced to and examine critical questions of justice across a variety of social contexts including—race, gender, technological, and environmental. Students will investigate these questions through interdisciplinary inquiry that includes political philosophy, social theory, history, and law. We will move frequently between the realm of abstract ideas and actual cases and case studies.
This course situates philosophical questions about the nature of love in their social and politic al contexts.Students will investigate questions such as “What is love?”; “Should our understanding of love be qualified in relation to race, class, sexuality, gender, ability and their many intersections?”; “What is Black love?”; “Are love and Black love mutually exclusive concepts?” Our primary objective is to situate love in the real world in order to tackle challenging philosophical questions not only about love, but also about justice, marriage, fairness, exploitation, harm & abuse, consent, agency, and authenticity. As love is often associated with marriage, this course will also have occasion to investigate questions about rights (i.e. of adults and children), citizenship, immigration. Finally, we will also “queer” heteronormative understandings of “Black Love” in American and globally by unpacking notions of gender and authenticity: namely, we will ask what does it mean to be a “real” Black woman and man, and what defines “real” Black love
This course is an inquiry into normative ethical questions that emerge in the context of political theories. For example, What might a just society look like? And how might it be achieved? Is diversity inherently good? Should the state be allowed to meddle in private matters such as intimate interpersonal relationships such as romantic relationships and marriages? Can emotions aide a society's pursuits of liberal democratic aims? If So which ones? These are the questions that this course will explore.