Philosophy of social rights

Ability to understand the importance of social role within liberal democracies and to evaluate arguments in favor and againstsocial rights

The course presupposes active participation. Students are required to select at least one text from the reading list and present itto their colleagues. Classes will be run as seminars: it is expected that students read the material before class and participate inthe discussion of the material presented.

Basic notions of political theory

Not mandatory but highly recommended.

The affirmation of social rights after the second world war marks a new way of understanding society. Not only Europe and mostwestern countries with their welfare state, but the new nations born after the decolonization period countries, as well as the newdemocracies born after the collapse of the Soviet regime have rarely failed to insert in their constitution rights such as the one to an adequate standard of living, to health, education and so on. Social rights are also an essential component of human rights, introduced as "Declaration" in 1948 and later turned into legal obligations in particular through the International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted in 1966 ed entered into force ten years later. The course investigates thephilosophical foundation of such rights. The focus will be not on their place in national or international juridical systems, but onthe reasons to consider them as grounded claims that individuals have against the state where they reside or perhaps againstthe global order at large. We will consider the debate on their problematic normative status (alleged rights better conceptualizedas aspirations, costly, of difficult judiciability, with no clear corresponding duty-bearers and so on) from different perspectives andstudents will be enabled to develop critically their informed opinion. Finally, the course will discuss the problematic case of the'reddito di cittadinanza' as an example of how the social state is changing in Italy.

Assessment will take place by looking at four aspects of students’ performance: 1) Participation in class, 2) Presentation, 3) Finalpaper, 4) Final exam Grade Weights: Participation in class: 33.3% Presentation: 33.3% Final exam: 33.3% For those who cannotattend class, hence participare and present, mark will depend entirely on the oral exam.