Freedom, Equality, Difference
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Text Selections
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
Nella Larsen, Passing
John Locke, Second Treatise of Government
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
Selected Supreme Court cases
Course Description
"Freedom” and “equality” are commonly appealed to as
the fundamental principles of Western liberal societies.
Individuals are supposed to be treated as equals and have an
equal right to freedom. Specifically, they are entitled to the
freedom to carry on their everyday lives and pursue their
ambitions without prejudice to race, ethnicity, religion or
gender.
Yet the principles of freedom and equality are often
contested as soon as we move from the realm of abstract ideals
to concrete social practices. People who agree in principle find
themselves differing (sometimes violently) about what kinds
of freedom and equality are important and essential to a just
society. Which freedoms will a just society promote and which
must be curtailed for the sake of justice? What particular
equalities properly concern government (such as equality
of opportunity or well-being)? How can the achievement
of equality be reconciled with respect for freedom? What
action should social and political institutions take to
guarantee freedom and equality? These questions embody
some of our most pressing national
and global issues today.
This course explores these and related questions through interdisciplinary inquiry
that includes political philosophy, literature, education, history and law. We will
repeatedly move between the realm of abstract ideas and actual case histories, using
one to shed light on the other.