Department of Economics & International Development, Unit Catalogue 2008/09 |
EC50178 Wellbeing & human development 2: development ethics |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Masters |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: CW 100% |
| Requisites: |
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Aims:
* To provide students with the analytical tools to evaluate critically development issues from an ethical perspective. * To reflect on international development in the context of theories of justice, and the debates about the 'just society'. * To examine the relationship between individual behaviour and social states of affairs. * To understand the links between ethical frameworks, values and actions. * To develop a critical awareness of the influence of values on public policy, democratic debate and international development. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit, students should be able to: * demonstrate the ethical underpinnings of public policy and to form a critical opinion about them. * have a clear understanding of what justice requires within different theories of justice, and how this applies in different social contexts. * have a critical awareness of the influence of values on public policy, democratic debate and international development. * inform public action on the basis of informed and self-critical ethical judgements. Skills: Cross-cultural and interpersonal sensitivity (Taught/Facilitated) Comprehensive and scholarly written communication (e.g. essays) (T/F/Assessed) Effective oral communication (e.g. seminar presentations) (T/F) Ability to select, summarise and synthesis written information from multiple sources (T/F/A) Ability to synthesise multidisciplinary perspectives on the same problem (T/F/A) Ability to produce work to agreed specifications and deadlines (T/F/A) Concise, time-bound and effective written communication (e.g. briefings / exams) (T/F/Assessed) Ability to select, analyse and present numerical data (T/F/A) Ability to develop rigorous arguments through precise use of concepts and models (T/F/A) Ability to work effectively as part of a group or team (T/F/A). Content: Part 1 Introduction to Development Ethics Part 2 Theories of justice * Economic conceptions of justice; Political liberalism; Communitarianism; Freedom and development (capability approach); The good and the right; feminist theories of justice. Part 3 Individual ethics * Virtue ethics; Individual and public morality Part 4 Ethics in public reasoning * Deliberative democracy; Public debate and values; Equity and efficiency; Solidarity, redistribution and freedom Part 5 Values, democracy and development. |