Summary of content

This interdisciplinary module has an explicit focus on The Common Good and draws on economics, politics, law, criminology, history, sociology and social policy in the consideration of social justice and economic inequality. This focus on the Common Good is achieved by:

Active and Global Citizenship - by recognising and actively seeking to address global social challenges such as poverty, gender inequality, political participation, human rights and climate justice in the community at a local, national and global level
Entrepreneurial mind-set - using these challenges to identify opportunities for change by critically engaging with campaigns for social justice.

Responsible Leadership - a critical engagement with a range of campaigns for social justice enables students to identify solutions that are ethical, visionary, realistic and sustainable. Doing so in a collaborative environment will contribute towards the development of empathy, resilience and professionalism

Confidence - will be developed by challenging 'common sense' assumptions and continually learning from real world experience that it is possible to make a positive difference.

Overall, the module aims to enable students to understand how the concept of social justice, encountered from various disciplinary perspectives, underpins action to address social inequalities such as gender inequalities, poverty, human rights, political participation and climate justice. The module begins by introducing students to the theory and practice of 'egalitarianism' as a framework for analysing economic and social justice issue and moves through equality and social justice issues from the disciplinary perspectives.

Economic Justice
Students will be introduced to the political economy approach which is one that emphasises institutional arrangements and social and cultural context as influencing economic behaviour. Economic phenomena such as income inequality are explained, at least in part, by the institutional set up of economies including legal and governance systems and social hierarchies such as class and gender. The political economy approach stands in contrast to mainstream/neoclassical economics which emphasise explanations based on rational choice models which underplay the influence of institutional and social structures. Similarly, a political economy approach, as the name suggests, draws on insights from many social science disciplines including economics, politics and sociology, as reflected in this module's learning and teaching strategy.

Gender and Justice
Gender inequalities are visible in many different social settings including access to education and the labour market, and reflected in social issues such as poverty and crime. Students will be introduced to gender analysis and feminist perspectives as frameworks of analysis seeking to draw attention to how gender as a social construct underpins the nature of inequalities between men and women.

Democracy, Participation and Citizenship
This section of the module will critically explore the problematic relationship between rights, citizenship and participation. There will be a focus upon the notion that 'citizens' have a right to participate in the public sphere and that citizenship should be based upon some notion of equality of status.

The Criminal Justice Environment and Human Rights
This section of the module gives students the opportunity to use their critical thinking to full effect by focusing on the relationship between criminal justice and human rights. This will involve a critical consideration of the policies and principles underpinning the processes and institutions within the criminal justice environment. It will also encourage students to think critically about the relationship between social and criminal justice.

Climate Justice
This section will provide an overview of climate justice and develop understanding and critical thinking on the key issues that underpin the definition of climate justice. There will be a specific focus on the way in which climate change undermines the capacity to exercise human rights and a consideration of the way in which adaptation and mitigation strategies can be integrated into policies that aim to reduce material deprivation.

Module structure

Assessment methods