Singapore University of Social Sciences

Differences and Interests in Society

Differences and Interests in Society (SCO117)

Synopsis

SCO117 Differences and Interests in Society aims to equip students to reason about differences and interests that could widen fault lines in society. Social harmony and economic progress depend on policies that take people’s differences and interests into consideration. The first part of the course equips students with concepts relevant to reasoning about morally relevant interests between different people and between different groups of people in society. This is by way of clarifying the general concept of equality. The second part of the course focusses on a particular manifestation of potentially conflicting interests that arise from racial and religious diversity. The aim of the second part of the course is for students to practise applying the concepts that they acquired in the first. In this course, every theory and approach is presented together with objections to them. Cases are presented only as examples to illustrate concepts, not as exemplars that imply ideal solutions.

Level: 1
Credit Units: 2.5
Presentation Pattern: -

Topics

  • Equality, Fairness and Justice in United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
  • Differences and interests in the social, political and economic domains
  • Stereotypes as fault lines in societies
  • Discrimination as fault lines in societies
  • Dialogues as “common spaces” and means of staying “woke”
  • Treatment of differences in the rule of law, governance and accountability

Learning Outcome

  • Outline the meaning of equality, fairness, and justice.
  • Describe the nature and types of morally-relevant equality in real-world situations.
  • Explain how equality, fairness and justice feature in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Identify morally relevant differences and interests in society.
  • Examine the various approaches to dealing with morally relevant differences and interests in society.
  • Apply the various approaches to reason about differences and interests in society.
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