Honors Case Studies in Ethics, 3 credit hoursDrs. Nancy Stanlick and Michael Strawser
Fall Semester 2011
Department of Philosophy
PSY 220
Class Meets: Tue & Thur, 4:30-5:45 in BHC 126
Instructor Office Hours:
Course DescriptionThis is an interdisciplinary, case-study approach to practical contemporary ethical issues in education, engineering, law, medicine, personal relationships, politics, etc. Students will conduct significant research on the cases, the nature of which will be highly interdisciplinary. You will also write position papers applying creative and critical thinking skills and theoretical ethical concepts and frameworks to the cases; present and defend positions on the cases in the form of a team debate; be required to participate in the local UCF Ethics Bowl competition, and selected students will be encouraged to participate in the Regional Ethics Bowl competition with the possibility that this may lead to competition in the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl.
Course GoalsStudents will:
Required Reading MaterialTexts:
Other Material:
Additional course readings may be required. Course RequirementsWebCourseThis course includes a web component for discussions, assignments, and quizzes. Additional course materials and supplements may also be provided in the webcourse, so students should check the contents of the webcourse regularly. Students are also required to have an accurate e-mail address registered with the university and at http://ecommunity.ucf.edu. Please not that only you can change your e-mail address at this site. Please note that if you e-mail the instructors outside of WebCourses you should include your full name at the end of your message. The instructors will not respond to messages from unindentified students. In addition, it is against university policy for instructors to include grades or any information about your progress in any course in e-mail messages EXCEPT in WebCourses, so please do not ask about your grades in an e-mail. Instead, you can send a message via Coursemail or see us in our offices.
Class Participation
In a class such as this which is focused on case studies, ethical dialogues, and team debates, class attendance and participation are essential. Consequently, any unexcused absences may affect your grade adversely, as you will not have the opportunity to make up missed classroom exercises because these are scheduled ONLY for in-class completion and presentation, and your particpation points may also be affected. Students who miss class work because of official excused absences (e.g., a recognized university function or religious observance) that are documented will not be penalized, but it is necessary that students notify the instructors as soon as possible (an email message is fine) regarding a possible absence to determine whether the absence will be excused. If you cannot notify us before a missed class, then you must notify us within two days after the missed class to have us consider whether the absence will be excused. After two days without any notification the absence will be marked as unexcused. Note that if you are ill, for example, your absence will be excused, but you must notify us according to the guidelines above. Please stay home and get well if you have an infectious disease such as the flu, but do notify us. Graded assignments for the course can be made up only with good, legitimate, and verifiable reasons as determined by the instructors.
Writing Assignments Case Proposal Assignment and Questionnaire
Shortly after the SEREB cases have been released, students will submit a written assignment in which they rank their top five case preferences (where your first preference is #1, etc.) and write a minimum 75-word justification (i.e., reasons) for your first preference, and a minimum 50-word justification for both your 2nd and 3rd preferences.
Discussion Postings
Students are required to write several thoughtful, well-researched, and well-argued discussion postings on three of the cases studies used during the course (these will be cases from the Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl that are used in the UCF Ethics Bowl). These writings will be posted in the appropriate Discussion Group in the WebCourse. Note that the due dates for these assignments will be determined after the SEREB Cases have been released and posted in the WebCourse. Not also that these discussion postings will be evaluated as formal written work, so clarity, spelling, grammar, etc. will count! The required Discussion Postings will be as follows:
DP#1: First, students will write three short "facts and issues" discussion postings of a minimum 250 words each in which they briefly summarize each of their three cases and explain the key facts, the most significant area(s) for further research, and the three most salient ethical issues arising from each case. They summary of the case should be crafted to give an indication of the centrality or importance of the ethical issues that have been
identified. Each of these postings will be submitted in WebCourses in the appropriate Case Discussion Group and should be titled "DP#1A + Case # and title," "DP#1B + Case # and title," etc.
DP#1 Response: Students will then be required to respond to at least three of these Discussion Postings with a critical comment of a minimum 100 words that takes the discussion further. Students should identify their agreements and disagreements with the authors' explanation of key facts and statement of problems. These responses should not be submitted as separate postings, but rather by replying to the original postings.
DP#2: Students will then write three follow-up "evaluative and argumentative" discussion postings on the same three cases of a minimum of 350 words each in which they provide argumentation concerning the way in which the ethical issues identified in the first paper may be solved. Although you should try to work towards a solution, it is not absolutely necessary here to "solve" all the problems posed from your first paper, but instead to discuss the ways in which specific ethical theories may be used to attempt to find a solution to the problems you identified or posed in the first paper. Each of these papers will be submitted in WebCourses in the appropriate Case Discussion Group and should be titled "DP#2A + Case # and title," etc.
DP#2 Response: The same instructions as "DP#1 Response" above, but students should consider the following questions when writing their critical responses:
Case Study Written Assignment
Students will then choose one of their three cases and write a more sustained and well-polished paper containing a persuasive analysis of the case. These papers should show significant reflections and development from commentary received in the discussion groups, class discussions, and further research. This paper should be approximately 1500 words and should be double-spaced, typed in 12 pt font, Times New Roman, with 1" margins, and contain a minimum of five references that are properly noted using an acceptable style (e.g., Chicago, MLA, or APA). Papers will be submitted as an attachment in the assignments section in the Webcourse.
Students’ papers should include the following parts:
N.B. Your reasoning should include a discussion of a relevant ethical theory. N.B. You should try to anticipate what could be the biggest objection to your argument, since you won’t have much space for more. N.B. Your reasoning and evidence should demonstrate detailed research into the case.Papers will be evaluated based on the following criteria with each criterion counting equally:
Test Creation Asignment
Students will individually create four test questions that they would like to see on the final exam. The questions should include one multiple choice, one true/false, one short answer (answered in a phrase or couple sentences), and one essay question (answered in several paragraphs, one to two pages, i.e., 200-400 words). Each question should be on different material (e.g., you shouldn’t have all questions on Utilitarianism). Students will submit the assignments in the WebCourse by the due date. Although not all questions need to meet the following criteria, at least one question should cover each of the following learning objectives (if not more):
A. Would your question allow students to demonstrate understanding of the course material? B. Would your question allow students to analyze central concepts and arguments? C. Would your question allow students to evaluate multiple perspectives of an issue? D. Would your question allow students to synthesize perspectives into a(n) answer, argument, position that one can live with?
Using the letters for the criteria A, B, C, and D, students must indicate after each question which objective it addresses. Students must also provide answers for all of the questions they create.
Grading: Students will be graded according to the following general rubric:
Be Contemplative and Creative!
A Possible Bonus: Selected student questions will be used on the in class tests, so if your questions are selected you should already know the answers to those questions! Oral PresentationFollowing the submission of DP#2, students will choose one of their three cases to present to the class. These oral presentations will follow the Ethics Bowl format and students will have 5-8 minutes to present a summary, identification of the central ethical problem, and proposed solution to the class. The presentations will be followed by Q&A in class. Students will be graded based on the clarity and quality of the case discussion and argument and the evaluation criteria for the written paper given above.There will be two or three quizzes throughout the course available in the WebCourse on the material presented in class. Students will have the opportunity to take these quizzes twice and their highest score will count. There will also be an online final exam on ethical concepts and theories at the end of the course. Students will help to create this exam with their submission of the Test Creation Assignment. This exam will consist of multiple choice, true/false questions, short answer essay questions (definition and identification or brief critical analysis), and essay questions. In general, anything from the assigned readings and classroom lectures and discussions will be considered fair game for the quizzes and final exam. A review will be given in class, although it is primarily the student's responsibility to compile a study guide for the test.
Additional explanations of the test and grading criteria will be presented in class and in the WebCourse. Students should note that grades in this course are earned by you and recorded by the professors. They are not "given" by anyone.
A missed test cannot be made up -- except for serious illnesses (normally requiring a formal physician's excuse) or serious emergencies (requiring consultation with the instructors and their consent). If a student does not take the test, then he or she will earn a "0." Students must speak to the instructor(s) as soon as possible if there is a conflict or issue regarding taking a test.
Ethics Bowl ParticipationEach student will be required to participate in the UCF Ethics Bowl on Sunday, October 30, from approximately 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. There will be practice "ethics bowl" activities in class, and all students will be formed into teams that will participate in the UCF Ethics Bowl. To prepare for ethics bowl competition in this course, every member of the group to which you are assigned will participate in doing research and preparing cases. Each student will have done significant research and writing on three cases, but you will all be expected to participate as a team in discussing the cases. Detailed information about the UCF Ethics Bowl competitions can be found at http://ucfcorecommitments.wordpress.com/ethics-bowl/ (note that this is listed above under required reading material).
The cases for the UCF Ethics Bowl will be the same as those used in the Regional Ethics Bowl competitions. All of the cases are written in summary format (usually about 1-2 pages each) and have content that is pulled from real-life situations that have appeared in the news, or issues that have occurred involving "real" people in ordinary, everyday circumstances. Citations are usually available for the real-life source(s) of each case.
Although all students will be encouraged to attend, only selected students from the class will be invited to participate in the Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl. The instructors will select students based at least in part on the following criteria: interest, availability for the competition, previous ethics bowl experience and success, outstanding oral communication of case studies, outstanding written communication of case studies, outstanding performance on test and quizzes, GPA, and college year. Please note that participation in the regional or national ethics bowl competitions in previous years does not guarantee a place in this year's regional or national ethics bowl. The instructors will determine which students from previous regional and national competitions will be part of this year's teams, if any. Priority is given to those who are registered for this course this term. Those selected to participate in the Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl will be sponsored by the UCF Department of Philosophy and the Burnett Honors College. Due to limitations on funding, anyone who is not participating in the actual competition may attend the SE Regional Ethics Bowl as a guest/observer, but may have to pay her or his own way. We will make all reasonable attempts to find funding to defray costs to participate in the regional ethics bowl competition, but cannot guarantee that there will be no personal financial costs to student members of our UCF regional ethics bowl team(s) (e.g., paying for one's own meals, gas, and incidential expenses).
GradingYou will be able to follow your progress in the course by the record of grades found at MyGrades via MyUCF and/or in WebCourses. Your final grade will be determined by dividing the total points received by the total possible points (1.e., 1000). The percentage will be judged according to the scale below. However, the instructors reserve the right to adjust the percentages required for final grades based on overall student performance. This would only be done for the benefit of all students. In other words, the percentages required below would only be lowered, not raised, in the event of a curve. Note that University policy on the +/- grading system does NOT provide for "A+" grades.
Late written work submitted within 24 hours after the deadline will earn a maximum 50% credit. Late written work submitted after 24 hours past the deadline will not receive any credit.
Grades will be based on the following points (see the schedule for the specific order of graded assignment/assessment appearance):
Incompletes are granted only if a student could not complete end-of-term assignments because of something over which he or she had little or no control (e.g., an illness or death in the family). To receive an "I" for the course, the student must have done most of the work for the course and he or she must speak to the instructor(s) before the final class meeting date.
Academic PolicyStudents are expected to follow UCF's Golden Rule for academic excellence and integrity. Any inappropriate behavior, academic or otherwise, will not be tolerated and may be reported to the Office of Student Conduct. For further guidance, please see http://www.goldenrule.sdes.ucf.edu. Students' work may be submitted to http://www.turnitin.com for authentication. Students found guilty of academic dishonesty or plagiarism will receive, at minimum, an F for the assignment(s) in which some form of dishonesty occurs and be referred to UCF's Office of Student Conduct. Students may also be given an "F" for the course and a "Z" grade designation. Remember that you are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of your essays/papers and the integrity of your research.
Other Course Policies for Online and Traditional Course ComponentsIf and when you engage in discussions either online or in person, be courteous and considerate. Simply put, be decent to each other (and to the course instructors). Respect for everyone is necessary. Being honest and expressing yourself freely are very important and are in fact essential, but so is being considerate of others. When online, please use appropriate "Netiquette." Please note, however, that if someone presents an absolutely ridiculous position, it is intellectually dishonest not to call it what it is. But you can do so with grace and style and with respect for another person even if you find that person's position to be incomprehensible, insane, weird, peculiar, etc. The point of intellectual honesty is the increase of knowledge.
Class ScheduleNote: The instructors welcome comments and suggestions about the course and encourage feedback throughout the course. They also reserve the right to amend the syllabus at their discretion. The following course schedule is meant as a guide and may be modified when necessary (e.g., for guest speakers, etc.). Changes and alterations in the schedule of topics, examination dates, paper due dates, assignments and other schedule-related information may be made from time to time to facilitate completion of all major sections listed.
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