Philosophy and Society Office: Hellems 182
Summer 2009 Phone: 492-6964
EKLC M203 office hours: TR 11:00-12:30
MTWRF 9:15-10:50 e-mail: david.boonin@colorado.edu
http://stripe.colorado.edu/~boonind/phil1200summer2009.html
course description: This course offers an introduction to philosophical thinking about society via a critical survey of philosophical writings on a variety of social issues. It does not presuppose any background in philosophy or familiarity with the issues to be discussed.
course format:
The format for this course involves a
combination
of lecture and class discussion.
required readings: All required readings for this course are contained in the book What's Wrong? Applied Ethicists and Their Critics, second edition (Oxford University Press), edited by David Boonin and Graham Oddie. The book is available at the University of Colorado Book Store in the UMC. All page numbers listed below refer to the pages in this book. Students are expected to come to class each day having done the required readings.
course
requirements: Final grades will be based on a
combination of written work, class participation, and a final
examination. Students will be evaluated on their ability to
explain and critique the arguments covered
in the course, and not on whether they agree or disagree with them.
1. papers (60
percent of
final grade): students will write two 7-8 pp. papers, each of which is
worth
30 percent of the final grade. The first paper is due on Monday,
June 15 and the second paper is due on Monday, June 29. Papers
must be submitted as Word documents (.doc format rather than .docx
format if at all possible) through Turnitin.com by 5:00
p.m.
on the day they are due. For information about how to submit a
paper through Turnitin.com, click here.
Students may submit rough drafts for
comments in advance of each deadline (by e-mailing them to me, not via
Turnitin.com), and I will make every reasonable
effort to provide such
feedback in a timely manner, but students do not have the option of
rewriting their paper or doing anything else to earn extra credit after
the papers have been graded. Papers that are submitted late
without
a legitimate excuse will be marked down one half-grade (e.g, from a B
to a B-) for every day that they are late. Be sure to include
your name on the front page of the paper. For further details on
the
writing assingments for this course, click
here .
2. class participation
(20
percent of final grade): participation will count for 20 percent of the
final
grade. Class participation requires, at a minimum, attending
class, and a student's
participation grade will be lowered by one-half (e.g., from a B to a
B-)
for every unexcused absence. In addition, to earn full credit for
participation,
students must be actively engaged in the course, where this is
construed
broadly to include conversations with me during
office
hours and correspondence with me via e-mail, as well as contributions
to
class discussion.
3. final examination
(20
percent of final grade): the final exam will count for 20 percent of
the
final grade. The exam will consist of two parts. Part I
will be a short essay section. This portion of the exam will be done as
a take-home exam. The assignment will be handed out at the end of
class on July 1 and will be due at the start of class on July 2.
Part II will be a short answer section. This portion of the exam
will be administered in class on July 2.
additional policies: click here for information on policies regarding the honor code, classroom environment, disabilities, religious observances, and discrimination and harassment.
class meetings
1. introduction and
overview (June 1)
2. abortion, part
one (June 2, 3)
required reading: WW, pp.
61-9
optional reading: WW, pp.
1-9, 16-21, 70-85
required reading: WW, pp. 89-98
optional reading: WW, pp. 9-11, 99-107
4. hate crime laws (June 8, 9)
required reading: WW, pp. 406-15
optional reading: WW, pp. 417-21
5. racial profiling (June 10, 11)
required reading: WW, pp. 437-56
optional reading: WW, pp. 460-72
6. punishment (June 12)
required reading: WW, pp. 540-52
optional reading: WW, pp. 557-9
7.
famine relief (June 15, 16)
required reading: WW, pp.135-42
optional reading: WW, pp. 142-53
8.
reproductive cloning (June 17, 18, 19)
required reading: WW, pp. 477-91
optional reading: WW, pp. 491-96
9.
slave reparations (June 22, 23)
required reading: WW, pp. 364-66,
372-73
optional reading: WW, pp. 366-71
10.
affirmative action (June 24, 25)
required reading: WW, pp. 376-85
optional reading: WW, pp. 389-93
11.
licensing parents (June 26)
required reading: WW, pp. 314-21
optional reading: WW, pp. 323-29
12.
commercial surrogacy (June 29)
required reading: WW, pp. 333-40
optional reading: WW, pp. 340-47
required reading: WW, pp. 111-18
optional reading: WW, pp. 118-30
14. homosexuality (July1)
required reading: WW, pp. 159-77
optional reading: WW, pp. 178-85
FINAL EXAM: Thursday, July 2: