Program Overview

Program Details

The provided context does not contain information about a university program. However, it does include details about a specific unit, PHCC320 - The Just Society, which is part of the Core Curriculum at Australian Catholic University (ACU).

Unit Overview

• Year: 2023
• Credit Points: 10
• Campus Offering: No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.
• Prerequisites: Nil
• Incompatible Units: UNCC300 Justice and Change in a Global World, PHIL320 Ethics, Justice and the Good Society

Unit Rationale, Description, and Aim

This unit engages students with contemporary philosophical debates and perspectives on the nature of the good society. It provides knowledge and analytical skills for constructive dialogue on matters of fundamental social importance, including the fair distribution of societal burdens and benefits, individual and community rights and duties, and the understanding and implementation of basic freedoms.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Identify and accurately explain central problems and key theories in social and political philosophy and public ethics.
2. Critically analyze and evaluate selected debates, developing logical and consistent positions.
3. Demonstrate skills in presenting a philosophical argument in formal oral and written contexts.

Graduate Attributes

• GA3: Apply ethical perspectives in informed decision-making.
• GA4: Think critically and reflectively.
• GA5: Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills, and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession.
• GA8: Locate, organize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information.
• GA9: Demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media.

Content

Topics include:

• Key concepts in social and political philosophy and public ethics.
• Theories of the just and fair society.
• The nature and scope of social equality.
• The ethics of distributive justice.
• Political authority and the good society.
• Public ethics and the Law.
• Work and the good life.
• Charity and mutual obligation in a globalized world.
• Free speech, toleration, and harm in a diverse society.
• Religion, civil society, and diversity.

Learning and Teaching Strategy

The unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, offered in both semester attendance and intensive modes. It utilizes a blend of collaborative learning, project-based learning, and direct instruction to ensure understanding of unfamiliar concepts and theories.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy includes:

• A structured written analysis task.
• Collaborative oral presentations with a written component (in semester attendance mode) or structured responses to philosophical texts and a statement of position (in intensive mode).
• A research essay requiring critical analysis of an important philosophical issue and argument for a coherent position.

Representative Texts and References

• Finnis, J. (1980). Natural Law and Natural Rights.
• Hornsby-Smith, M. (2006). An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought.
• Marx, K. (2000). Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844.
• Mill, J. S. (2010). J. S. Mill: 'On Liberty' and Other Writings.
• Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice.
• Rousseau, J-J. (2003). On the Social Contract.
• Sen, A. (1992). Inequality Re-examined.
• Waldron, J. (2012). The Harm in Hate Speech.
• Waldron, J. (2017). One Another's Equals: The Basis of Human Equality.
• Wolff, J. and De-Shalit (2007).

Given the constraints and the nature of the input, the extracted information focuses on a specific unit rather than a broad university program.