Programme overview

This module explores the morality of appearance discrimination by first considering the general issue of what makes discrimination wrong, when it is wrong. Indeed, the first half of the module addresses different theories of this kind, using racial discrimination as a test case. It will then consider how these theories should be applied to appearance discrimination, focusing on three contexts in which it occurs, namely, employment decisions; the choice of friends or romantic partners; and the everyday practice of judging and commenting upon people’s looks.

Programme content

• To introduce students to different notions of discrimination – such as, the notions of direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, and statistical discrimination.
• To consider a range of different theories of what makes discrimination wrong when it is wrong, including those developed by, inter alia, Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, Deborah Hellman, Benjamin Eidelson, and Sophia Moreau, using racial discrimination as a test case for them.
• To apply these theories to appearance discrimination in three contexts: in appointments to jobs, in the choice of friends and romantic partners, and in everyday life.