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The course aims at analysing the interconnection between globalization and matters of justice and discussing its practical implications. It will address questions like: should the demands of justice apply only at the domestic level or even beyond the boundaries of the nation state? In a world as interconnected as our own, are existing inequalities morally justifiable or are they morally troubling? What is the role of the digital transformation and artificial intelligence in fostering (or hindering) global justice and shaping international relations? In order to answer these and other questions, the course will integrate theoretical reflection and case studies. Students are expected to gain knowledge of the major approaches to social and global justice and to apply them to concrete cases.

The course will be divided into three modules.

The first module will focus on the analysis of social justice and will discuss its major approaches, namely: utilitarianism, communitarianism, libertarianism and liberal egalitarianism.

The second module will discuss the possibility of an extension of matters of justice from the national to the global level. The most prominent approaches, such as statism and cosmopolitanism will be compared so as to show the importance of a shift from social to global justice, given the global dimension of contemporary socio-economic and political processes.

The third module will focus on justice and artificial intelligence and will discuss the role of artificial intelligence in fostering (or hindering) justice and shaping international relations.

For interested students: The topics of the third module will be further analyzed, through an applied perspective, in the "Global justice and technology lab" held by Dr. Simona Tiribelli.

(A) T. Brooks (ed.), The Global Justice Reader, Blackwell, Oxford 2008: Part IV: Chapter 11, Chapter 12; Part V: Chapter 14; Part VI: Chapter 18; Part VII: Chapter 21; Part XI: Chapter 37, Chapter 38

(A) M. Risse, The Political Theory of the Digital Age. Where Artificial Intelligence Might Take Us, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge-New York 2023

The instructor will provide students with the needed teaching material (updated on a dedicated on line repository).

• During the first class meeting students will receive a syllabus with the detailed course program, including topics and readings of each class meeting.

  Class meetings will be structured in ways that encourage students' active participation and the development of their critical and argumentative capability. They will include lectures and discussion, team works, case studies and ethical dilemmas.

• Since active participation by students is encouraged, the evaluation will take place not only at the end, but also during the course, above all through the discussion of readings, case studies and ethical dilemmas, in order to verify both the progressively acquired knowledge and the ability to analyze, to critically assess, and to make arguments. The final exam is oral. The evaluation will be in English. 

  
  

  Criteria adopted for grading:

  a) knowledge and ability to understand texts (25% of the total overall assessment);

  b) ability to make connections between topics (25% of the total overall evaluation);

  c) ability to apply knowledge (25% of the total overall assessment);

  d) independent judgment and critical thinking (25% of the total overall assessment).

English

English