Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Prejudice Race + Gender
School	Phil, Theology and Religion
Department	Philosophy
Module Code	08 26796
Module Lead	Scott Wisor
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-20 hours Seminar-8 hours Guided independent study-172 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	We take ourselves to be rational agents, going about in the world in a fairly rational manner. Even if we don’t always end up doing so, we assume that acting and judging rationally is within our reach if we try to do so. However, we also commonly recognise that our judgements and actions are sometimes prejudiced in various ways. This module is an investigation into the different faces of prejudice, its bearing on our conception of ourselves as rational agents, and its ethical and political implications. The guiding questions are whether the existence of prejudice undermines our capacity for rational judgement and action in significant ways, and what we might be morally required to do to address any shortcomings. We start with a cluster of startling and fascinating empirical results from psychology, which demonstrate the range and extent to which unconscious, or implicit, bias drives everyday behaviour. In particular, there is a large psychological literature investigating a cluster of phenomena involving implicit bias along gender and racial lines. We will then turn to philosophical discussions surrounding implicit bias and other unconscious convictions in several areas of philosophy. Topics for discussion will include: -The nature of the mental states involved in implicit bias. In particular, are they belief-like? -Debates in epistemology about cognitive penetration of perception – in what sense does implicit bias undermine the idea that our perceptual beliefs are justified? -Moral and political issues raised by the prevalence of implicit racial and gender biases. For instance, to what extent can individuals be morally responsible, or blameworthy, for the fact that they harbour such biases? In what ways might we be morally required, whether as individuals or a political community, to try to overcome or unlearn these biases, or at least alleviate their effects? In particular, is so-called ‘affirmative action’ in education, the workplace, or politics, an appropriate response or remedy to the persistence of racial and gender prejudice, or, as some claim, is it a case of two wrongs not making a right?
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: - Demonstrate an understanding of a range of influential positions on the philosophical issues mentioned above and have a basic understanding of relevant empirical data; evaluate such positions critically: i.e. understand the philosophical arguments for and against the positions; construct arguments of their own in relation to such positions, to articulate clearly arguments formulated by others; Show an appreciation of the interaction between the ordinary conception of a certain phenomenon, scientific investigations of it and philosophical theorizing about its nature and role.
Assessment	26796-01 : Essay 1 - 2000 Word Essay : Coursework (50%) 26796-02 : Essay 2 - 2000 Word Essay : Coursework (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessments: 1 x 2000 word essays (50%) and 1 x 60 minute in-class exam (50%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component, if this results in failure of the module as a whole.
Other
Reading List