Kurzus nemzetközi vendég- és részidős hallgatóknak

Kar

Társadalomtudományi Kar

Szervezet

TÁTK Nemzetközi és Európai Tanulmányok Tanszék

Kód

IRM13

Cím

Equality

Tervezett félév

Tavaszi

ECTS

4

Nyelv

en

Oktatás célja

Course description The course examines controversies concerning the interpretation of equality, the material requirements of the ideal of equality (equality of what?), the scope of equality (equality among whom?), and its status within theories of justice (the value of equality). First, the course offers a general overview of rival theoretical ideas of equality. The selected works cover, among others, a teleological explanation by Aristotle, the core of the Marxist tradition of equality, the role of the equality principle in John Rawls’ and Ronald Dworkin’s theories of justice, and brief accounts of Jürgen Habermas’ and Jeremy Waldron’s contribution to our understanding of equality. Second, the course examines how international human rights law transposes and applies the principle, particularly in relation to the prohibition of discrimination. It offers materials on the judicial application of equality and non-discrimination principles. The topics include controversies on direct and/or indirect ethnic, religious, sex, sexual orientation, disability, and age discrimination and the allocation of scarce resources in health care. The selected cases are from the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the EU, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the US Supreme Court, and the former apex court of Canada.

Tantárgy tartalma

Keywords Concepts of equality and justice Formal equality Proportional equality Moral equality Distributive justice Suspect classification Direct discrimination Indirect discrimination Preferential treatment Affirmative Action Allocation of scarce resources Racial discrimination Religious discrimination Sex discrimination Sexual identity discrimination Disability discrimination Age discrimination Conceptions of distributive equality Libertarianism Utilitarianism Equality of welfare Equality of resources Equality of opportunity The theoretical foundation of equality Aristotle’s theory of distribution Marxist theories of equality   The place of equality in John Rawls’ theory of justice The place of equality in Jürgen Habermas’s theory The place of equality in Ronald Dworkin’s theory Jeremy Waldron on equality Online Lectures 26 March Equality: Principles, rights, institutions Introduction From racial discrimination to affirmative action (Brown v Board of Education, DeFunis v Odegaard) 9 April Direct discrimination Political rights of women (Persons Case) Voting rights of the disabled (Alajos Kiss v Hungary) 23 April Indirect discrimination Racial discrimination and the right to education  (Horváth and Kiss v Hungary) Religious discrimination and the right to choose an occupation (Eweida v the United Kingdom) 7  May Allocation of scarce resources Equality in health care: Comparative case studies 14 May Equality and political systems Autocracy v Democracy

Számonkérés és értékelés

1.  Theories: Create a PPT presentation Part I of the Reader offers a general overview of the theoretical bases of the equality principle. Article 1 examines how international human rights law transposes and applies the principle, particularly in relation to the prohibition of discrimination. Article 2 discusses social and political equality at an advanced philosophical level. It examines controversies concerning the notion of equality, the relation of justice and equality, the material requirements of the ideal of equality (equality of what?), the extension of equality (equality among whom?), and its status within theories of justice (the value of equality). Part II of the Reader provides a selection of rival theoretical views of equality. The selected articles cover, among others, a teleological explanation by Aristotle, the core of the Marxist tradition of equality, the role of the equality principle in John Rawls’ theory of justice, and brief accounts of Jürgen Habermas’, Ronald Dworkin’s and Jeremy Waldron’s contribution to our understanding of equality. Your tasks: 1. Read the articles. 2. Select a single topic (e.g., a theoretical problem, different features of a concept, a thinker’s views, a debate between thinkers, a practical application of a theory or a concept) 3. Select at least one article from Part 1 and one article from Part 2 covering to some extent your preferred topic. Reread those articles, make notes and highlights. 4. Make additional internet research if necessary. 5. Create a simple PPT presentation (8-16 slides, without special effects) for an imaginary workshop or conference on your topic, using the selected articles. Do not plagiarize. You may demonstrate the importance of the selected theoretical issue with individual case(s) or practical application. 2. Cases: Write a memo Part III of the Reader offers materials on the judicial application of equality and non-discrimination principles. The selected cases are from the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the EU, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, US Supreme Court, and the former apex court of Canada.  The topics include controversies on direct and/or indirect ethnic, religious, sex, sexual orientation, disability, and age discrimination. Your tasks: 1. Give yourself a general overview of the topic, nature and main difficulties of the cases. Try to understand the social background of the legal procedures. 2. Make internet research to understand the context of the cases if necessary. 3. Select a case. 4. Reread and examine the case thoroughly. Make notes, highlight relevant facts, underline key problems. 5. Write a memo (750-1,000 words) to your imaginary boss of your imaginary organization, who knows nothing about the case and has requested information. The memo includes a summary of the facts, the background, and the debate between the parties, a brief account of the decision and the reasoning with the emphasis on the key problems, and relevant non-discrimination principles. After that, express and explain your opinion on the decision. In this way, the memo is dedicated to identifying what lessons should be learned from the story. If you consider yourself “advanced,” you may add a paragraph comparing the case with another non-discrimination case. Quote phrases and sentences correctly from the decisions. Do not copy/paste. Do not plagiarize. 3. Online lectures: Write a reaction paper The online lectures offer an overview of selected problems of equal treatment with the help of case studies. The topics include, among other things, direct and indirect forms of racial, religious, sex, and disability discrimination, allocation of scarce resources in health care, and affirmative action in public education and elsewhere. The lecture topics also cover the role of institutional design in equal treatment. Your tasks: 1. Give yourself an overview of the topics, problems, and key concepts discussed during the lectures. 2. Take notes during the lectures. 3. Select a topic, a problem, or a key concept discussed during one of the lectures. 4. Make library catalogue search to find article(s), book(s), audio or video document(s) offering additional information, idea, or critical assessment of your selected topic. 5. Write a reaction paper (750-1,000 words) covering (1) a brief description of the problem and central arguments discussed during the lecture, (2) a summary of the additional facts, questions or ideas raised in the selected article, book, audio or video, and (3) a critical discussion and personal assessment. Give the bibliographical data of your selected source. Do not copy/paste. Do not plagiarize. Merge the presentation, the memo, and the reaction paper into a single PDF-file.

Irodalomjegyzék

I. General overview 1. Jarlath Clifford, Equality in The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law 2. Stefan Gosepath, Equality in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy II. Theoretical foundations 3. Michael Sandel, Who Deserves What? — Aristotle in Justice: What's the right thing to do? 4. Equality in Encyclopedia of Marxism 5. Frederick Engels, Morality and Law. Equality in Anti-Dühring 6. Michael Sandel, The Case for Equality — John Rawls in Justice: What's the right thing to do? 7. Ronald Dworkin, Equality in Justice for Hedgehogs 8. Stefan Gosepath, The Place of Equality in Habermas’ and Dworkin’s Theories of Justice European Journal of Philosophy 3:l 9. Amia Srinivasan, More Equal Than Others: On Jeremy Waldron’s book The New York Review of Books, 65:7 10. (Excursus) Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron III. Cases Ethnicity 11. Brown v Board of Education of Topeka 12. Centrum voor gelijkheid van kansen en voor racismebestrijding v Firma Feryn NV 13. Horváth and Kiss v Hungary Religion 14. Eweida v the United Kingdom 15. S.A.S v France Sex 16. Persons Case and the Famous Five 17. Bilka-Kaufhaus GmbH v Weber von Hartz Sexual identity 18. Coman, Hamilton, Asociaţia Accept v Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrări, Ministerul Afacerilor Interne Disability 19. Kiss Alajos v Hungary 20. Bujdosó Case Age 21. Mario Vital Pérez v Ayuntamiento de Oviedo 22. Gorka Salaberria Sorondo v Academia Vasca de Policia y Emergencias

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