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How should we deal with diversity? Human beings differ in our religious convictions, cultural identities, race and ethnicity, privilege, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and more. How should we organise our societies given that we don’t agree about how to live? This module examines one of the most pressing political problems facing contemporary pluralist societies: how can we ensure that all individuals are treated equally, while respecting the fact that each individual is different.

In this advanced level applied political theory course we are interested primarily in the philosophical issues, values and principles that underpin policy, and the complexity of using these normative values to guide policy decision-making and practice, building skills in analytical argument through exploring these issues. The module takes John Rawls as paradigmatic of the mainstream liberal approach that students will be familiar with, and critically examines a range of challenges to liberal approach to dealing with difference, weaves together a strong normative grounding with the exploration of conceptual questions through concrete case studies. For example, previous presentations of this module have included: religious exemptions to generally applicable laws, language policy in Quebec and Wales, and fair access to higher education. The module is assessed by one philosophy essay, and students must engage effectively with the political theory studied in this module through analytic philosophical argument in order to do well in their assessment.