Modern democracies are not only made up of diverse individuals but diverse cultures. How ought liberal democracies address cultural pluralism, especially when the claims of cultures conflict? This question is explored principally by critically examining liberal multiculturalism, which argues that group-differentiated rights are not only consistent with, but required by, the basic liberal democratic values of freedom and equality. Ultimately the course goes beyond a secular multiculturalism by seeking to understand cultural pluralism within a political theological framework. Will Kymlicka and Nicholas Wolterstorff are among the theorists considered, and particular attention is given both to Quebec and Islam as case studies.
ICS 222601 W16
Dr. Phillip Shadd
Monday 9:30am - 12:30pm
(MA, PhD)
Syllabus
Note: Readings for the Week 1 have now been posted in the Syllabus.
Required Texts:
Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship. (Oxford, 1995)
Tariq Modood, Multiculturalism, 2nd ed. (Polity, 2013)
Nicholas Wolterstorff, Understanding Liberal Democracy: Essays in Political Philosophy, edited by T. Cuneo (Oxford, 2012)
