Current Offerings

Spring 2025

Extractivism

PHIL 5050 | Dr. Pedro Monque | M 4:00-6:45pm

We will look at the Latin American concept of extractivism to understand what is wrong with contemporary forms of extraction, thinking creatively about how to move toward “post-extractivist” societies.

What is a Revolution?

PHIL 5050 | Dr. Martin Shuster | W 5:30-8:15pm

The premise of this class is quite simple: we will try to figure out what it means to have a revolution, not exclusively in politics but equally perhaps in science or art or religion or other domains.

Data Ethics

PHIL 5220 | Dr. Damien Williams | Th 5:30-8:15pm

Investigation of the most substantial ethical concerns that arise with big data.

Theoretical Approaches to Gender

PHIL 6050 | Dr. Maria Labbato | T 5:30-8:15pm

An interdisciplinary examination of the core theories about the role of gender in identity formation and social organization.

Ethical Theory

PHIL 6110 | Dr. Gordon Hull | T 11:30am-2:15pm

This version of Ethical theory will approach ethics as a form of practical reason, that is, reason what to do. More specifically, ethics is practical reasoning about morality. This course will explore both selected high-level normative ethical theories, such as virtue ethics and utilitarianism, and selected ethical problems, such as adaptive preferences or epistemic injustice, that emerge from developing those theories.

Health Law and Ethics

PHIL 6220 | Dr. Ken Nanney | W 5:30-8:15pm

This course interprets and uses the main normative principles of bioethics (autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice) to guide the practice of healthcare professionals and policymakers.

Research Ethics in the Biological and Behavioral Sciences

PHIL 6240 | Dr. Lisa Rasmussen | W 11:15am-2:00pm

Designed to identify the fundamental elements that characterize not only methodologically grounded but also morally appropriate scientific research. Class discussion and readings focus on key issues in biological and behavioral research including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, risk-benefit assessments, mechanisms for protecting animal and human research subjects, international research, vulnerable populations, conflicts of interest and data management, publication ethics, intellectual property issues and the politics of research.