Rights and Duties
Aims of the learning activity
The main aims of this activity are to investigate what kinds of rights and duties we associate with citizenship; to look at different ways of thinking about rights and duties; and to consider some current controversies about the rights and duties of citizenship.
While carrying out the activity you will:
- Be introduced to the liberal and civic republican traditions of thinking about rights and duties.
- Gain a basic understanding of the range of thinking about rights and duties in contemporary political theory.
- Explore your own position on the rights and duties of citizenship.
- Consider some current controversies in public policy which turn on claims about the rights and duties of citizenship.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this activity you should be able to:
- Talk about the different traditions of thinking about rights and duties.
- Critically discuss the various positions on rights and duties in contemporary political theory.
- Be aware of how different views of rights and duties give rise to controversies in public policy.
- Formulate and defend a normative position on these controversies.