Year 2011-12

 

Political liberalism in the twenty-first century (21 713)

Qualification: Degree in Political Science and Public Administration
Year: 3rd
Term: 1st
Number of credits: 4
Hours of student dedication: 100 hours
Teaching language: Catalan
Teacher: Ferran Requejo and Marc Sanjaume

 

1. Introduction to the course

 

This course focuses on the analysis of social and cultural pluralism and national political power in contemporary liberal democracies. Over the course we will analyze the political theories of liberalism of the last three decades and Shakespeare's tragedies that reflect the tensions of modern societies. The latter will be understood as a backdrop for the relationship between pluralism and political liberalism in theories of socio-economic justice (Rawls), theories of culture-national justice (Taylor) and the values ​​of pluralism (Berlin). Finally, we will analyze the role of today's democracies in relation to cosmopolitanism and "global justice".

 

2. Competences to be achieved

 

Generic competences:

- Ability to argue from different theoretical positions.
- Ability to introduce and present texts and critical works that express the pluralism in contemporary liberal democracies.
- Teamwork.

Specific competences:

- Critical -conceptual analysis in the field of contemporary political theories. Knowledge of the possibilities and limits of current political theories.
- Ability of normative and comparative analysis between different theories of democracy and political liberalism.
- Relating normative political theories of liberal democracy to the political empirical phenomena of contemporary democracies.
- Knowledge and ability to analyze the political content of classical tragedies. 

 

3. Contents

 

Topic 1. Pluralism, democracy and political power

Topic 2. Pluralism and theories of social and economic justice. John Rawls and his critics.

Topic 3. Pluralism and political liberalism. William Shakespeare and Isaiah Berlin.

Topic 4. Pluralism and cultural-national theories of justice. Charles Taylor and his critics.

Topic 5. Pluralism, cosmopolitanism and global justice.

  

4. Assessment

 

The assessment criteria for the course are:

- Final exam: 45%
- Seminars: 35%
- Participation and oral presentations: 20%

  

5. Bibliography

BERLIN, I. Entre la filosofia i la història de les idees. Barcelona: Afers, 1998.

BERLIN, I. El poder de las ideas. Espasa, 2000.

CASTIÑEIRA, A. (dir.). El liberalisme i els seus crítics. Barcelona: Proa, 1996.

DWORKIN, R.; LILLA, M.; SILVERS, R. (ed.). The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin. Nova York: New York Review Books, 2001.

GAGNON, A.; TULLY, J. (ed.). Multinational Democracies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

GRAY, J. Las dos caras del liberalismo. Paidos, 2000.

KYMLICKA, W.; NORMAN, W. (ed.). Citizenship in Diverse Societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

MAIZ, R.; REQUEJO, F. (ed.). Democracy, Nationalism and Multiculturalism. Routledge, 2005.

PAREKH, B. Rethinking Multiculturalism. Macmillan Press, 2000.

RAWLS, J. A. Theory of Justice. Harvard College, 1971. [Translation: Teoría de la Justicia. Mèxic: F.C.E., 1978].

RAWLS, J. Political Liberalism. Nova York: Columbia University Press, 1993. [Translation: El Liberalismo Político. Barcelona: Crítica, 1996].

RAWLS, J. Justice as Fairness. A Restatement. (Editat per Erin Nelly edit). Londres-Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001. [Traducció: La Justicia como equidad. Una reformulación. Barcelona: Paidós. Buenos Aires-México, 2002].

REQUEJO, F, , "The crooked timber of liberal democracies is still too straight", in N. Walker-B. Shaw-S. Tierney (eds), Europe's Constitutional Mosaic, Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2010.

REQUEJO, F, Multinational Federalism and Value Pluralism, Routledge, London-New York, 2005

SKINNER, Q. Liberty Before Liberalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

TAMIR, Y. Liberal Nationalism. Princeton (EUA): Princeton University Press, 1993.

TAYLOR, Ch., "The Politics of Recognition", Multiculturalism and the "Politics of Recognition", New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1992.

TULLY J. Strange Multiplicity. Constitutionalism in an Age of Diversity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

WALZER M. Thick and Thin. Notre Dame-Londres: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994.

 

References to political science analysis of the tragedies of W. Shakespeare: www.ferranrequejo.cat/aficions/shakespeare-tragèdies-política

 

6. Methodology

 

The course will combine three types of activities:

1. Theoretical sessions (development of program).

2. Seminars (reading, presentations and critical review of texts related to the program).

3. Oral presentations in PowerPoint by students on the different types of pluralism and political tensions reflected in the tragedies of Shakespeare.