Module manager: Carl Fox
Email: ca.fox@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 May to 31 July View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as an Elective
This module explores what justice requires and asks what a just society should look like. To that end, it asks how we ought to distribute valuable resources, and how we should understand and account for relevant concepts such as rights, interests, and the public interest. It also considers the idea of structural injustice, and seeks to analyse and evaluate debates about equality and diversity in that context.
The aims of this module are for you to gain an understanding of core philosophical debates about distributive justice and the issues they raise for how we arrange the benefits and burdens of social cooperation; to critically analyse and evaluate arguments made in those debates; and to articulate, explain, and defend reasoned views about social arrangements and the distribution of the benefits and burdens of social cooperation.
These aims will be achieved through:
- Learning resources such as online documents which you will work through in your own time
- Further independent study where you are encouraged to read texts critically and reflect on and analyse arguments and concepts
- A webinar where you will interact with the tutor and other students to discuss and evaluate concepts and arguments
- Online discussion boards, where you will be prompted to engage in detailed critical discussion with the tutor and other students about concepts and arguments.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Critically analyse and evaluate concepts, arguments, and positions central to debates about distributive justice
2. Apply insights from theory to specific problems in applied and professional ethics
3. Articulate and defend your own views on issues in distributive justice through insightful and sophisticated argument
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Communicate ideas and understanding clearly and concisely, using appropriate academic language (Academic and Work Ready skill)
5. Critically analyse source material and demonstrate independence of thought (Academic and Work Ready skill)
6. Independently search for and utilise appropriate material to support knowledge and analysis of topics (Academic, Work Ready, Digital and Sustainability skill)
7. Apply ethical perspectives to contemporary problems in resource allocation in medicine and health care. (Academic, Work Ready, Sustainability and Enterprise skill)
8. Effectively communicate, participate and collaborate in an online environment (Digital and Work Ready skill)
Topics may include:
- Specific theories of justice, such as those advanced by Rawls, Nozick, Dworkin, Anderson, and Young
- Rights and prerogatives
- Interests, benefits, and harms
- Understanding the public interest
- Structural injustice
- Equality and diversity
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-line Learning | 8 | 2 | 16 |
| WEBINAR | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Independent online learning hours | 33 | ||
| Private study hours | 100 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 17 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 150 | ||
In addition to the formative feedback available to students in student hours and seminar-based activities, each student is invited to complete ONE piece of formative work which will receive written feedback.
Students are given a choice of: essay plan; exposition of an argument; objection and reply.
To ensure that students get the formative feedback that they need, they are asked to read and reflect on (i) the feedback they received in previous summative assessments, (ii) the PRHS marking criteria and (iii) the specific guidance provided on the summative assessment in this module. This requires students to critically engage with previous feedback, current expectations, and play an active role in honing their knowledge and skill development.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 90 |
| Coursework | Contributions to online discussion boards | 10 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
The resit for the discussion contributions will be an essay demonstrating familiarity with a wide range of debates and will be descriptively as opposed to analytically focused
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 14/02/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team