Teacher: WIRTZ, Fernando Gustavo
Course Code: JK54001
How does culture influence our ethical ideas? How can we think of an ethics suitable for our multi-/trans-cultural societies? What obligations do we have toward the Other and toward others?
The course will explore how concepts of justice, recognition, and alterity are contested and reimagined across cultural and philosophical traditions.
Module 1 will discuss foundational positions in 20th-century justice debates (utilitarianism, libertarianism, egalitarianism), problematizing them through non-Western lenses. Special attention will be given to the liberalism-communitarianism debate, analyzed through Japanese philosophy (Watsuji Tetsurō’s ethics of aidagara [betweenness]) and African thought (using the concept of consensus democracy by the Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu).
Module 2 will focus on multiculturalism and recognition, engaging theorists like Habermas and Charles Taylor while incorporating other voices such as Tariq Modood. The debate on multiculturalism gained particular importance in the second half of the 20th century, as many Western societies began to question the limits of their models of citizenship in light of increasing cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity. This discussion emerged in the context of decolonization, mass migration, and struggles for minority recognition. Key questions include: What are the state’s obligations toward cultural others? How do political frameworks negotiate difference without assimilation?
Module 3 will depart from the concept of the Other, drawing on Enrique Dussel’s ethics of liberation (inspired by the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas) to theorize emancipation from outside Europe. This module will also examine borderland subjectivities, such as the Chicana feminist praxis of Gloria Anzaldúa.
Module 4 will deepen the seminar’s themes through the lens of epistemic injustice (Miranda Fricker). We will analyze the subaltern’s exclusion from knowledge production, alongside struggles for self-representation and decolonial epistemologies.
This course is open to JDTS students of all study foci.
Course Information
Module: Skills for Transcultural Studies
CATS Requirements: BA 3rd. year or above
Link to course material on PandA.
Day/Period: Tue/5
Location: Sem. 2
Credits: 2
Course Goals
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Reflect on your own perspectives and biases when discussing ethical issues across cultures.
- Understand and compare different Western theories of justice (like utilitarianism and egalitarianism) and see how non-Western thinkers challenge them.
- Explain key debates about multiculturalism and cultural recognition, including perspectives often left out of mainstream discussions.
- Analyze how different philosophies understand “the Other” and how this affects real-world power dynamics.
- Recognize and explain different forms of epistemic injustice – how some people’s knowledge gets ignored or silenced.
- Connect course ideas to current issues about cultural differences, human rights, and social justice.
Course Schedule and Evaluation
For a detailed course schedule, please visit KULASIS or the PandA platform (the enrollment key is provided in KULASIS and also during the first week of class).
Active Participation – 10%
Short Essay – 30%
Student-led introduction of the text (Referat) – 20%
Final Essay – 40%