Postgraduate Course: Theories and Politics of Social Justice (EDUA11324)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Social justice is a deeply contested concept and this course will explore the competing ways in which it is defined, theorised and operationalised in local, national and international contexts. Students will be encouraged to think critically and expansively about the nature of social justice by considering its foundational claims and the historical and contemporary disputes that have shaped the development of this idea. |
| Course description |
What is social justice?
Why does social justice matter?
Understanding distributive justice
Introduction to justice as recognition
Competing approaches to the application of social justice principles in local, national and international contexts
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | none |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | none |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2025 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Summative:
Blogs 50% LO 1,2,3
Essay 50% LO 1,2,3
Formative: Feedback on draft blog posts before submission for assessment.
Via the students' private blog, students are required to blog about their reflections on the relationship between set course readings, lectures, group discussions and contemporary examples of social (in)justice a minimum of 3 times over the course. Students will then choose 3 of their posts to submit for assessment. Student blogging forms the basis of the formative assessment and part of the summative assessment for this course. |
| Feedback |
Task 1: Students receive feedback on the blog posts in their blog space and in the weekly discussion forum. This feedback supports both summative tasks for this course. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Analyse and critique the core concepts of social justice, e.g. fairness, liberty, equality, recognition, redistribution, solidarity, participation and democracy
- Critically compare and contrast competing conceptualisations and standpoints regarding social justice
- Consider different manifestations of injustice and critically evaluate competing approaches for addressing injustices in local and global contexts
|
Reading List
Davis, A.Y. (1981) Women, Race and Class. London: The Women¿s Press.
Fanon, F. (2008) Black Skin, White Masks. London: Pluto.
Fraser, N. (2010) Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World. New York: Columbia University Press.
Hall, S., Massey, D. and Rustin, M. (eds) (2013) After Neoliberalism? The
Kilburn Manifesto. London: Lawrence and Wishart Books.
hooks, b. (2006) Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations. London: Routledge.
Rawls, J. (1999) A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Said, E. (1994) Culture and Imperialism. London: Vintage.
Sandel, M. (2009) Justice: What¿s the Right Thing to Do? New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Sen, A. (2010) The Idea of Justice. London: Penguin.
Soja, E.W. (2010) Seeking Spatial Justice. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Young, I. M. (1990) Justice and Politics of Difference. Princeton: Princeton University Press. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course addresses 10 of the University of Edinburgh Graduate Attributes:
Research and Enquiry
- analyse, synthesise, critically and methodically appraise thoughts to break down complex problems into manageable components
- capability to evaluate information thoroughly; identifying assumptions, detecting flawed logic or reasoning and defining terms accurately in order to make an informed judgement
- use information and knowledge effectively in order to abstract meaning from information and to share knowledge across fields
- have an understanding of contextually relevant ethics and values, self-awareness, mental flexibility and openness, resilience and a commitment to life-long learning
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
- recognise and address ethical dilemmas, social responsibility and sustainability issues, applying ethical and their own/organisational values to situations and choices
- be critically self-aware, self-reflective and self-manage in order to fully maximise potential
- develop personal resilience
- development of lifelong learning skills as part of continuing personal and professional development
- being adaptable, and learn how to manage complexity and self-direction, being curious, developing higher-order thinking and sound reasoning
- analysing situations and applying creative and inventive thinking
Personal Effectiveness and Communication
- have an ability to plan and effectively use resources to achieve goals |
| Special Arrangements |
none |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
none |
| Keywords | social justice,equality,fairness,liberty,citizenship,democracy,participation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Claire Bynner
Tel:
Email: claire.bynner@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Annemarijn Huizinga
Tel:
Email: ahuizing@ed.ac.uk |
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