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Syllabus ETHICS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS - 59506
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Last update 17-10-2015
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: glocal community development studies

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: English

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Gad Prudovsky

Coordinator Email: prudov@012.net.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Tuesday 11:00-12:00 (3707 Social Science)

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Gad Prudovsky

Course/Module description:
Actions which are done in the public sphere raise many ethical issues. They always involve intervention in the regular course of things; and quite often the intervention has major effects on people's lives. The international arena is even more complex. Issues of legitimacy, which are at the national level quite settled, are hotly debated at the international level. Therefore, the main focus of the course – over and above the ordinary issues of public ethics – will be on an examination of this issue of legitimacy. The examination includes the questioning of some deep seated convictions regarding human welfare and human development: If officers in international organizations use their power in order to improve lives, they must devote some thinking to their conception of human flourishing and to why they are justified in their attempt to implement it. The aim of the course is to help the participants in the developing of their own informed conception of human flourishing and of their role in furthering it.

Course/Module aims:
To interpret and evaluate ethical theories and their application to international NGOs

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Master central ethical concepts from the philosophical literature.
Integrate that mastery in discussions of dilemmas of development, especially those dealing with cultural diversity.
To evaluate critically philosophical literature.

Attendance requirements(%):
80%

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Lecture, discussion and presentation in class.

Course/Module Content:
Meta-ethics.
Normative ethics.
Ethics of development.
Cultural relativity.
Politics of recognition.

Required Reading:
Des Gasper, The Ethics of Development: From Economism to Human Development (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004)
Pogge, “Moral Priorities for International Human Rights NGO’s”
Carens, “The problem of Doing Good in a world that isn’t”
Charles Taylor, "Politics of Recognition"

Additional Reading Material:
Linda Polman, The Crisis Caravan.
Avishai Margalit, On Compromise and Rotten Compromises

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 70 %
Assignments 30 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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