LDST 205: Justice and Civil Society Sections 01 Spring 2009 MW 4:15-5:30, Jepson 102 Instructor: Dr. Sungmoon Kim Office: Jepson Hall, Rm. 245 Email: [email protected] Tell: (804)287-6845 Office hours: Tuesdays, 2-4 p.m. and by appointment Course Description The purpose of this course is to enable students to think critically about what it means to live justly as a person and as a member of community and what is required of us to fulfill the ideal of justice by introducing to them the theoretical, empirical, and experiential dimensions of justice in our democratic civil society. The course starts with a Socratic method of the examination of life—a method that critically examines the conventional life and question whether the way it is understood and practiced is just or justifiable. Over the course students will wrestle with the question of whether I as an individual can live justly in an unjust society. They will learn (1) that a just “I” (individual) and a just “We” (society) are not only inextricably intertwined but also mutually enhancing and therefore (2) that it is critical for us both as a person and as a member of society to investigate what problems (social, economic, political, and even cultural) we collectively suffer and how they can be dealt with effectively. More specifically, after understanding the Socratic notion of citizenship (i.e., critical citizenship), students will explore what it means to live “together” and “democratically” and what kinds of injustice are posed to our common democratic living and what should be done collectively to rectify those problems of injustice. Over the semester, students will make a theoretical exploration of the foundation of the modern/contemporary civil society from different perspectives (ethical, economic, and gender/sexual) and investigate whether or not the concept of “civility” on which the modern civil society is predicated is politically, economically, or sexually neutral and fair to individuals and groups comprising our democratic civil society. Toward the end of the course, then, students will read various contemporary, more empirically oriented, readings that directly address issues of social injustice and (attempt to) offer some practical solutions for them. In doing so, students will invite themselves to apply theories of justice and civil society they have learned to the betterment of our society and at the same time to critically reevaluate them against the backdrop of the empirical problems that we are actually confronted with. In short, this course is committed to inculcate the democratic values of (1) the mutual enhancement of I and We and (2) the dialectical interplay between theory and practice. Justice and Civil Society is divided between 45 hours of class time and 30 hours of community-based learning, including 4 hours of social observation (see below) and 26 hours of service: As a service-learning course, Justice and Civil Society requires the students to engage in service with members of communities in need. Students will sign up for a specific task that allows them to apply what they have learned in class through an active engagement 1– e.g., tutoring children, assisting refugees, visiting the elderly, or working with the incarcerated – in local communities in Richmond area under the supervision and auspices of a non-profit or public organization. In class, students are strongly encouraged to share their service experiences with other students and discuss what impacts their direct involvement in local communities has brought to their understanding of justice and of the social systems of justice. Therefore, this course aims not only to foster active citizenship to commit oneself to the democratic justice but also reflective leadership to critically reexamine the established norms of justice and its underlying systems. Required Readings (Available for purchase at the UR bookstore) Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America. New York: Owl Book, 2002. Low, Setha and Smith, Neil (eds.), The Politics of Public Space. New York and London, 2006. Mill, J. S. The Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill. New York: Modern Liberty, 2002. Morrison, Toni, The Bluest Eye. New York: Vintage, 2007. Plato. The Last Days of Socrates. New York: Penguin, 2003. Rawls, John. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, ed. Erin Kelly. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2001. Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America. New York: Vintage Books, 2005. ® Readings available online via the library reserve system, on both e-reserve and paper reserves. Course Requirements 1. Class Participation: 15% The success of this “seminar-like” class hinges on the active participation of each member of the class. By “active participation,” I mean that students are not only to attend all class meetings but also to engage fully in them: reading the required reading materials in advance and carefully; thinking reflectively about the readings in relation to the key issues of the week; raising thoughtful and interesting questions regarding the readings and/or the service experiences; critically and yet respectfully arguing with another student or the instructor. If you attend every class and pay attention to what is going on but rarely say anything during the class, your participation grade will be roughly C+/B- (11-12). Note that one unexcused absence is understandable, but your final grade will be lowered by two percentage points for each additional unexcused absence. If you need to miss a class, please let me know in advance (via email). More than five absences (without permission) will amount to the failing grade. 2. Three Short Reaction Papers (5-6 double-spaced pages): 45% Paper #1 on a Critique of Lockean (Possessive Individualistic) Modern Civil Society from Rousseauian or Marxian or Feminist Viewpoint (15%) Due Monday, February 16, 3:00 p.m. 2Paper # 2 on a Critical Reaction Paper on Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye from a Justice Perspective (15%) Due Wednesday, March 18, 3:00 p.m. Paper # 3 on a Critical Essay on either Poverty or Shrunken Public Space in America (15%), Due Monday, April 20, 3:00 p.m. Late papers are penalized one-third of a grade for each day they are late. Barring exceptional circumstances, there are no paper extensions. 3. In-Class Midterm Examination: 20% (Wednesday, March 4) The exam will be comprised of 10 identification