PHIL 407 A: International Justice

Summer 2025 A-term
Meeting:
MTWThF 2:20pm - 4:30pm / SAV 130
SLN:
12957
Section Type:
Lecture
Syllabus Description (from Canvas):

Screenshot 2023-05-02 at 2.12.23 PM.png

This course is designed to cover some of the main issues, authors, and topics in the contemporary philosophical literature on international justice. In particular this course will look at issues of global poverty, national self-determination and colonialism. The second half of this course will them focus exclusively on the issue of immigration justice. Links to all the readings for the course can be found on Canvas and in the Reading Schedule section of this syllabus below.

Meeting Times

This class is scheduled to meet Monday-Friday 2:20-4:30pm, in Art Building Room 004

Office Hours

Office hours will be held Mondays and Tuesdays, 4:30-5:30pm, in Savery Hall 385

Assignment Guidelines

Reading Quizzes (40% of course grade)

There will be EIGHT reading quizzes (about 8-12 questions per quiz).

Short Writing Assignments (30% of course grade)

There will be THREE short writing assignments (about 300-500 words in length).

Final Paper (30% of course grade)

There will be one final paper (about 1,500-3,000 words in length).

Reading Schedule

June 23rd: Peter Singer: “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” (1972)

June 24th: Charles Beitz: “Justice and International Relations” (1975)

June 25th: Reading Day

June 26th: Brian Barry: "Humanity and Justice in Global Perspective" (1982)

June 27th: Robert Goodin: "What Is So Special about Our Fellow Countrymen?" (1988)

June 30th: David Miller: "The Ethical Significance of Nationality" (1988)

July 1st: Daniel Weinstock: "National Partiality: Confronting the Intuitions" (1999)

July 2nd: Reading Day

July 3rd: Kok-Chor Tan: "Cosmopolitan Impartiality and Patriotic Partiality" (2020)

July 4th: Holiday (no class)

Second Half: The Ethics of Migration by Adam Hosein

July 7th: Adam Hosein: "Introduction" and "Arguments for Opening Borders" (Chapter 1)

July 8th: Adam Hosein: "Arguments for Border Controls" (Chapter 2)

July 9: Reading Day

July 10th: Adam Hosein: "Enforcement" (Chapter 3)

July 11th: Adam Hosein: "Selection for Admission" (Chapter 4)

July 14th: Adam Hosein: "Refugees" (Chapter 5)

July 15th: Adam Hosein: "General Theories of Immigrant Rights" (Chapter 6)

July 16th: No Class

July 17th: No Class

July 18th: No Class

July 21st: Adam Hosein: "Temporary Workers" (Chapter 7)

July 22nd: Adam Hosein: "Undocumented Migrants" (Chapter 8)

July 23rd: Review day

Catalog Description:
Examines issues through investigation of the moral foundations of international politics. Issues include: What moral duties constrain the relationships between states? Is international poverty a matter of moral concern? Are we justified in preferring the interest of our fellow nations? Prerequisite: one course in philosophy.
GE Requirements Met:
Writing (W)
Credits:
5.0
Status:
Active
Last updated:
May 8, 2025 - 12:15 pm