Category: 2006

Ha! My focus group for winter quarter is now listed in the course catalogue! Scroll down to CHID 496.

…guess that means I need to finish my syllabus!

Science fiction offers a fertile ground for the exploration and study of ethical issues, but is often set in dystopian or utopian cultures very different from our own. This coure intends to utilize the near-present science fiction television series Stargate:SG1 to explore issues of applied ethics as they relate to our contemporary society. Set only a week or two ahead of our own time, this show offers an ideal framework to explore a broad variety of culturally relevent ethical issues.

A variety of applied ethical topics will be discussed, including (but not limited to) human torture, just war theory, bioethics, environmental ethics and population control. We will read from a variety of classical and contemporary sources, including Thomas Hobbes, Jeremy Bentham, Daniel Dennett, and Brian Massumi, and discuss the readings in relation to individual issues of the episode, which will be viewed at the beginning of class each week.

Students will be expected to write a final 3-5 page paper and participate in weekly class discussions in order to receive credit for this course. Knowledge of Stargate:SG1 is not required. Some philosophy or critical theory background is encouraged, but also not required.

I’m up early, working on my syllabus for Winter quarter. It was one of those things that seemed so daunting when I first set out, and now I’m actually enjoying myself. There’s something really satisfying about rummaging through saved course packs and printed articles and books – just the sheer knowledge at my fingertips – and piecing it together into a coherant whole. This is also the first time that coherant whole is me; sure, I’m stealing liberally from Phillip and a few other sources, but the end result is a hodgepodge all my own. Am I planting the seeds for “my” class – that one class I’ll teach a variation on for the majority of my teaching career? The idea is exciting!

Of course, someone just sent me a link to Piled Higher and Deeper, so now I’m laughing myself into a coughing fit and not actually focusing on the syllabus, but that’s okay, too.