PHI110N: Contemporary Moral Issues (3 credits, meets M-F 1:00-3:45)

Dr. Eric Snider

Think more clearly about and discuss controversial moral issues. Numerous short writings on a handful of moral issues (cloning, abortion, euthanasia, the environment) and on Christian ethical thinking. Assignments include in-class discussion activities, quizzes, tests, a 4-5 page ethical analysis paper.

PHI220L Philosophies of Race and Gender (3 credits, meets M-F 1:00-3:45)

Dr. Dan Yim

In this course, we will survey philosophical and social issues associated with race, gender, and ethnicity. We’ll read authors who present differing perspectives on how race, gender, and ethnicity inform individual as well as group identity. Our approach will be interdisciplinary. We’ll raise questions such as: What are racism and sexism? Though we may all agree that racism and sexism are morally wrong, we are not always clear why. Why are they wrong? To what degree does “social construction” influence our ideas of race, gender, and ethnicity? What is the distinctive shape of this debate in recent American history, including recent American religious history?

The goal is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to form well-reasoned answers to the course’s questions.

FLM310 Films of Great Directors (3 credits, meets M-F 1:00-3:45)

Dr. Don Postema

If you have an interest in film studies, you might find this course interesting for its philosophical dimensions. Each of the three weeks of Interim will focus on the films of a different director. Ingmar Bergman’s films span more than 30 years, and no one has better explored questions of the meaning of human existence and the possibility of genuine human community cinematically. Krzysztof Kieslowski, the great Polish director, was fascinated by questions raised by the interaction of chance and human choice. He also insightfully explored the meaning of ethical action in the contemporary world in his monumental series, The Decalogue. During the last week we’ll explore the work of contemporary American directors. There will be both required and collateral viewing, readings providing interpretive contexts for the filmmakers, short responses to the films, and an extended paper on the meaning and value of the work of one of these directors.

PHI335K Environmental Ethics (3 credits, meets M-F 1:00-3:45)

Dr. Sara Shady

Have you ever worried about global warming, wondered whether animals have rights, thought about the importance of preserving nearly-extinct animal species, or pondered the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers? Have you wondered how economic and technological advances should be regulated by ethical concerns? In this course, we will look at questions like these, with an eye to discerning our duty to the world God has given us. The course will involve study of ethical theory and application of the theory to current issues relating to the environment. Requirements include a major research project on an applied issue in environmental ethics involving scientific data and technological choice. Prerequisites: Laboratory Science (D) course; Mathematics (M) course. (Carries cross-credit in environmental studies.)