Academics

An introduction to moral philosophy as applied to current topics. Some questions to be explored: What sorts of socioeconomic principles are morally justifiable? Does the history of racial injustice in the U.S. create a moral demand for reparations, and if so, what is the best argument for this? What is the relation, if any, between morality and religion? Do animals have moral rights? How should we understand the meaning and value of human life and death? Can abortion sometimes be justified, and if so, how? Is it okay to destroy embryos for stem cell research? Is active euthanasia ever permissible? Is capital punishment justifiable in principle? In practice? Is torture morally permissible in the fight against terrorism? How far does our moral duty to aid distant strangers extend? We will also explore related general questions: Is it always possible for a good enough end to justify bad means? Are there objective facts about right or wrong, or is morality ultimately relative to cultures or times? Are there situations in which every available action is wrong? Can we be morally assessed even for some things that are largely a matter of luck?

Location

(TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

This course will explore an array of perspectives implied by the term “ground” and how these

perspectives define the human relationship to the world. The ground offers a complicated and

sometimes controversial focal point for a consideration of human activity. Many possible

correlates of “ground” in German—the terms “Grund,” “Boden,” and “Erde,” for

example—include semantic fields that extend to reason, basis, territory, soil, earth, and world.

Through the examination of perspectives ranging from metaphorical, to philosophical, to

material, we will investigate how the ground functions in diverse contexts, forming at times the

basis for human exceptionality, becoming the great unifier of organic and inorganic matter, and

finally setting the scene for a decentering of an anthropocentric understanding of the world.

In order to consider each of these perspectives in detail, readings for this course are grouped

into five sections. These five sections follow the human/ground interaction in different

configurations. Beginning with the initial differentiation of human from ground, readings progress

from more philosophical, metaphorical, and individualizing perspectives on the ground, through

to more material and dispersed understandings of the ground. In these sections, students will

engage in close reading of a variety of texts (poems, short stories, films, and musical works),

with special emphasis on the function of various “grounds” within these texts.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

his course will examine the varieties of thought about, and practice of, civil disobedience within social movements, with an emphasis on contemporary activism. When, why, and how do communities choose to push back against structures of violence and injustice? Throughout the semester, we will study canonical texts of modern resistance history speeches, writing, direct action protests, art and will consider the role of this form of counter-conduct within larger campaign strategies to build power from below and get free.

Location

(T 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed thru the instructions for online independent study registration.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)