SOCI 205 - What is a Just Society?

1 unit(s)

It grows ever more important — as the world becomes more globalized and cultures and ideologies intersect — to understand what we mean by “justice”. What does it mean to have a just society? In a just society does everyone have his or her basic needs met? Or, in a just society, is everyone free to get as much as they can? Will everyone be happy in a just society? Or will it be acceptable for some to suffer? How do we decide when a society is truly just? Who gets to decide? In a just society, is it simply enough to guarantee everyone constitutional and legal equality? Are notions of justice transcendent? Or do they change over time? The course will provide students with conceptual tools derived from different historical periods and intellectual traditions to highlight the array of possibilities available to imagine a just society. Diane Harriford.

Not offered in 2018/19.