Aims
To introduce the ideas of two of the most influential of recent political thinkers: John Rawls and Juergen Habermas

Objectives
To acquire a clear understanding of the main ideas of the two thinkers and their relevance to contemporary society. This understanding should be expressed through a sound grasp of the following concepts: Rawls's concepts of equality, liberty and distributive justice; Habermas's concepts of the public sphere, democracy, constitutional patriotism and post-national identity.

Content
Habermas and the Frankfurt School (1)
Habermas and German politics (2)
Habermas's concept of the public sphere (1)
The idea of discourse ethics (1)
Rawls's A Theory of Justice - the veil of
ignorance and the difference principle (2)
Political Liberalism and the politics of the United
States (2)
The 'law of peoples'- international justice (1)
Rawls and Habermas compared - recapitulation and conclusion (1)

• Figures in brackets refer to the number of seminars devoted to each topic