When making political decisions, should we favor our co-citizens over foreigners? Should we care about the large gap in living standards between rich and poor countries? What duties, if any, do we have to help strangers who are suffering or dying? What, specifically, is wrong about colonialism? Is it appropriate to think about international relations in ethical terms at all? This course provides an introduction to global political philosophy. It canvasses a range of different general approaches to the above kinds of questions and applies them to a set of specific controversies in global politics, including global poverty, immigration, fair trade, and climate change.
*
Goals: Upon successful completion of this course, you will:
be familiar with a variety of theories of global justice;
understand the philosophical dimensions of many significant global problems; and
be able to critically assess moral responses to these problems.
As in any philosophy class, you will also have developed your general skills in:
Interpreting and evaluating arguments
Developing, justifying and defending your own views on complex philosophical questions
Expressing yourself clearly and persuasively in oral and written form.
*
Prerequisite: Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors without prerequisite, and to first-years who have taken one course in philosophy.
Distribution: Religion, Ethics and Moral Philosophy
Professor: Helena de Bres
Contact: hdebres@wellesley.edu
Website: https://sites.google.com/wellesley.edu/helenadebres/home
Class time: Tuesdays and Fridays, 12:45-2
Venue: Green Hall 428
Office hours: Tuesdays 2:15-3:15, Fridays 11:15-12:15, or by appointment.
You're welcome to drop by my office as often as you like during these times, either solo or in a small group with other students.
No need to have a specific question--we can chat about class material, philosophy, writing, or whatever else is on your mind.
If the set times don't work for you, email me and we can arrange an appointment at a different hour.
If we have to shift to zoom, we'll use this link.
Communication:
Outside of class, we'll be communicating via our Google Group, which has the following email address: phil-236-01-sp25@wellesley.edu
I'll make all announcements via the Group, and you can also use it to send messages to the class as a whole.
You'll submit your weekly reading responses (instructions here) via the Group too.
You'll submit your assignments to me, anonymized, over email.
Readings:
There is no text assigned for the course. All readings are PDFs linked to our class schedule, on this site.
You can find course policies and additional resources at those links right there.