Curricular Unit:			Code:
Ethics and Political Science			1142ETCP
Year:	Level:	Course:	Credits:
3	Undergraduate	Political Science and International Relations	6 ects
Learning Period:		Language of Instruction:	Total Hours:
Spring Semester		Portuguese/English	78
Learning Outcomes of the Curricular Unit:
(i) To be able to apply their knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional approach to their field; (ii) To show ability to solve ethical and deontological problems in professional and civil life and to be able to develop a personal argumentation; (iii) To know how to gather, select and interpret the relevant information, especially in their scientific area, in order to be able to justify the decisions and judgments in professional field, especially from the point of view of their ethical relevance; (iv) To have the learning skills to undertake further studies with some autonomy; (v) To develop a critical and autonomous reasoning about the most important topics in the field of ethics in politics.
Syllabus:
Unit I – Fundamental concepts: 1. Etymology and general definitions of ethics. 1.2 . Differences and similarities between the concept of ethics and the concept of morals; The “Golden Rule of ethics”; 4. Solidarity and common good. 1.5. Ethical relevance of memory. Unit II – Ethics and politics: 1. Cosmopolitanism; 2. Democracy and its limits; 3. Sovereignty and Human Rights; 4. Freedom of expression. 4. Access to information and democracy; 5. Ethics and citizenship; 6. Ethics and ecology.. 7. Ethics and terrorism. 8. Ethics and the notions of “post-truth” and “fake news”. 9. Ethics and refugees crisis. 10. Ethics and religion.
Demonstration of the Syllabus Coherence with the Curricular Unit's Objectives:
Chapter I: syllabus contents provide students with basic knowledge on ethics, deontology and morals, articulating them with each other, and with solidarity and the notion of “common good”. Chapter II: syllabus contents provide students with knowledge and critical tools to develop a critical ethical reasoning about specific topics in political science, also enabling them to develop skills in the field of information management and lifelong learning.
Teaching Methodologies (Including Evaluation):
Teaching methodology will include theoretical lecturing, research, reading and discussion of specific references, as well as thematic debating and critical reflection. Assessment will be periodical and based on a written test about the topics of the syllabus' first chapter (70%) and on a review of a text about the topics of the syllabus' second chapter (30%).
Demonstration of the Coherence between the Teaching Methodologies and the Learning Outcomes:
Chapter I: Theoretical overview of the concept of ethics, deontology and morals as well as of the relation and difference between them. Theoretical overview of the notions of solidarity and common good. The students make individual readings on the topics of this chapter and discuss them during classes. Chapter II: This chapter is the corollary of the previous chapters: The topics will be discussed during classes and the students will have a test on them.
Reading:
Appiah, K. A. 2006. Cosmopolitanism: ethics in a world of strangers. New York : W. W. Norton. Ash, Timothy Garton. 2016. Liberdade de expressão. Dez princípios para um mundo interligado. Fidalgo, A. 2017. Ética Mínima. Gradiva: Lisboa Henry S. Richardson, H.S. “John Rawls (1921-2002)”. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (https://www.iep.utm.edu/rawls/) Juncker, J.-C.2015. State of the Union 2015: Time for Honesty, Unity and Solidarity. Strasbourg: European Commission (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-15-5614_en.htm) Moellendorf, D. & Widdows, H. 2015. The Routledge Handbook of Global Ethics. NY: Routledge. Singer, P. 2004. Um só Mundo A Ética da Globalização. Lisboa: Gradiva. Snyder, T. 2017. Sobre a Tirania. Vinte lições do século XX. Relógio d’Água: Lisboa.