Law and Society

LWSO 412 S01

Liberalism and Legal Issues
Fall 2008
T 11:00-13:50 ST064

 

Instructor:	CGK Atkins
Office Location:	SS346
Office Phone:	403 210 9433
E-Mail:	catkins@ucalgary.ca
Office Hours:	tM 13:00, by appointment

 

Additional Information

This is a full course running Fall 2007 and Winter 2008

Course Description

This course examines the conception of rights and freedoms in J.S. Mill and John Rawls other liberal philosophers.  It also examines legal theorists who are critical of liberalism.  Finally, it analyses the manner in which these theoretical discussions have been incorporated into contemporary law with a particular emphasis on Canadian legal and social issues.

Students should have a prior knowledge of John Locke and Edmund Burke's writings. Knowledge of other political and legal theorists would also be helpful.

Objectives of the Course

Students should gain a detailed and subtle understanding of liberalism and its adoption by Canada and other nations as a legal model.  They should also demonstrate strong analytical skills and an ability to present both oral and written arguments in a both a sophisticated and coherent manner.  Finally, students will be asked to creatively apply  their theoretical understanding to concrete social and legal problems.

Textbooks and Readings:

John Stuart Mill - On Liberty and Other Essays

John Rawls - Justice as Fairness

Charles Taylor -   Philosophical Arguments

Martha Nussbaum - Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality and Species Membership

Will Kymlicka -  Multiculturalism: A Liberal  Theory of Minority Rights

Blackboard Readings

Assignments and Evaluation

Short Paper -(10%) J.S. Mill - 6-8 pages - DUE: 21 October 2008

Group Assignment -(30%)  DUE: 2 December 2008

Paper proposal - (5%) DUE: 10 February 2008

Paper outline - (10%) DUE:17 March 2008

Long Paper - (35%)  DUE:  14 April 2008

Class Participation (10%)

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.
Note: Please hand in your essays directly to your tutor or instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination: NO

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

(Revised, effective September 2008)

 

	Grading Scale
A+	96-100
A	90-95.99
A -	85-89.99
B+	80-84.99
B	75-79.99
B-	70-74.99
C+	65-69.99
C	60-64.99
C-	55-59.99
D+	53-54.99
D	50-52.99
F	0-49

 

Where a grade on a particular assignment is expressed as a letter grade, it will normally be converted to a number using the midpoint of the scale.  That is, A- would be converted to 87.5 for calculation purposes.  F will be converted to zero.

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Ethics

Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines.  Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and supervise your research.  For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see

The Faculty of Communication and Culture Research Ethics site: http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/ethics

or the University of Calgary Research Ethics site: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/ethics/info/undergrad/

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

9 Sept 2008 - Introduction to course

16 Sept 2008 - Mill On Liberty

23 Sept 2008 - Mill On Liberty, On the Subjection of Women

30 Sept 2008 - Mill On the Subjection of Women, Utilitarianism

7 Oct 2008 - Mill - Utilitarianism

14 Oct 2008 - Mill- summary, class discussion

21 Oct 2008 - MILL PAPER DUE, John Rawls

28 Oct 2008 - John Rawls

4 Nov 2008 - John  Rawls

11 Nov 2008 - no class

18 Nov 2008 - John Rawls, Michael Sandel

25 Nov 2008 - Group work

2 Dec 2008 - GROUP ASSIGNMENT DUE

WINTER BREAK

13 Jan 2008 - Nussbaum

20 Jan 2008 - Nussbaum

27 Jan 2008 -Nussbaum

3 Feb 2008 -  Amartya Sen (Blackboard)

10 Feb 2008 - Taylor - PAPER PROPOSAL DUE

17 Feb 2008 - READING WEEK

24 Feb 2008 - Taylor

3 Mar 2008- Taylor -Kymlicka

10 Mar 2008- Kymlicka -

17 Mar 2008 - Kymlicka - PAPER OUTLINE DUE

24 Mar 2008 - Blackboard reading

31 Mar 2008 -  Blackboard reading

7 Apr 2008 - no class

14 Apr 2008 -  LONG PAPER DUE