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AFRICAAM 221: Between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, JR.: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Freedom (AMSTUD 141X, CSRE 141R, HISTORY 151M, POLISCI 126, RELIGST 141)

Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both icons of the twentieth-century civil rights and black freedom movements. Often characterized as polar opposites - one advocating armed self-defense and the other non-violence against all provocation - they continue to be important religious, political, and intellectual models for how we imagine the past as well as for current issues concerning religion, race, politics and freedom struggles in the United States and globally. This course focuses on the political and spiritual lives of Martin and Malcolm. We will examine their personal biographies, speeches, writings, representations, FBI Files, and legacies as a way to better understand how the intersections of religion, race, and politics came to bare upon the freedom struggles of people of color in the US and abroad. The course also takes seriously the evolutions in both Martin and Malcolm's political approaches and intellectual development, focusing especially on the last years of their respective lives. We will also examine the critical literature that takes on the leadership styles and political philosophies of these communal leaders, as well as the very real opposition and surveillance they faced from state forces like the police and FBI. Students will gain an understanding of what social conditions, religious structures and institutions, and personal experiences led to first the emergence and then the assassinations of these two figures. We will discuss the subtleties of their political analyses, pinpointing the key differences and similarities of their philosophies, approaches, and legacies, and we will apply these debates of the mid- twentieth century to contemporary events and social movements in terms of how their legacies are articulated and what we can learn from them in struggles for justice and recognition in twenty-first century America and beyond.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

AMSTUD 135: Deliberative Democracy and its Critics (COMM 135W, COMM 235, COMM 335, ETHICSOC 135F, POLISCI 234P, POLISCI 334P)

This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

AMSTUD 137: The Dialogue of Democracy (COMM 137W, COMM 237, POLISCI 232T, POLISCI 332T)

All forms of democracy require some kind of communication so people can be aware of issues and make decisions. This course looks at competing visions of what democracy should be and different notions of the role of dialogue in a democracy. Is it just campaigning or does it include deliberation? Small scale discussions or sound bites on television? Or social media? What is the role of technology in changing our democratic practices, to mobilize, to persuade, to solve public problems? This course will include readings from political theory about democratic ideals - from the American founders to J.S. Mill and the Progressives to Joseph Schumpeter and modern writers skeptical of the public will. It will also include contemporary examinations of the media and the internet to see how those practices are changing and how the ideals can or cannot be realized.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

AMSTUD 141X: Between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, JR.: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Freedom (AFRICAAM 221, CSRE 141R, HISTORY 151M, POLISCI 126, RELIGST 141)

Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both icons of the twentieth-century civil rights and black freedom movements. Often characterized as polar opposites - one advocating armed self-defense and the other non-violence against all provocation - they continue to be important religious, political, and intellectual models for how we imagine the past as well as for current issues concerning religion, race, politics and freedom struggles in the United States and globally. This course focuses on the political and spiritual lives of Martin and Malcolm. We will examine their personal biographies, speeches, writings, representations, FBI Files, and legacies as a way to better understand how the intersections of religion, race, and politics came to bare upon the freedom struggles of people of color in the US and abroad. The course also takes seriously the evolutions in both Martin and Malcolm's political approaches and intellectual development, focusing especially on the last years of their respective lives. We will also examine the critical literature that takes on the leadership styles and political philosophies of these communal leaders, as well as the very real opposition and surveillance they faced from state forces like the police and FBI. Students will gain an understanding of what social conditions, religious structures and institutions, and personal experiences led to first the emergence and then the assassinations of these two figures. We will discuss the subtleties of their political analyses, pinpointing the key differences and similarities of their philosophies, approaches, and legacies, and we will apply these debates of the mid- twentieth century to contemporary events and social movements in terms of how their legacies are articulated and what we can learn from them in struggles for justice and recognition in twenty-first century America and beyond.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

ANTHRO 34: Animals and Us (ARCHLGY 34)

The human-animal relationship is dynamic, all encompassing and durable. Without exception, all socio-cultural groups have evidenced complex interactions with the animals around them, both domesticated and wild. However, the individual circumstances of these interactions are hugely complicated, and involve much more than direct human-animal contact, going far beyond this to incorporate social, ecological and spiritual contexts.This course delves into this complexity, covering the gamut of social roles played by animals, as well as the methods and approaches to studying these, both traditional and scientific. While the notion of `animals as social actors is well acknowledged, their use as proxies for human autecology (the relationship between a species and its environment) is also increasingly recognized as a viable mechanism for understanding our cultural and economic past. It will piece together the breadth of human-animal relationships using a wide geographic range of case studies.
Last offered: Autumn 2020 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

ANTHRO 80A: Heritage and Human Rights (ARCHLGY 80)

What does archaeology have to say about human rights? Is there a right to cultural heritage? How can archaeology and heritage help protect rights¿or encroach upon them? Themes we will address in this course include the archaeological investigation of human rights topics; the right to heritage; conflicts of different rights regimes in heritage contexts; and ethical considerations about rights during research and heritage management. These questions will take us to cases as diverse as forensic investigation of the disappeared in Argentina, the archaeology of homelessness in the U.K., the destruction of heritage as cultural genocide in Bosnia and the Middle East, and the rights of indigenous groups in Australia and the U.S. to control cultural heritage.
Last offered: Spring 2019 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ANTHRO 123C: "Third World Problems?" Environmental Justice Around the World (CSRE 123C)

As the Flint, Michigan water situation began to attract attention and condemnation, Michigan State Representative, Sheldon Neeley, describing the troops on the ground and the Red Cross distributing water bottles, said that the Governor had "turned an American city into a Third World country [...] it's terrible what he's done [...] no fresh water. Then, at a Congressional hearing, the Chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee said, "This is the United States of America - this isn't supposed to happen here. We are not some Third World country."What is a "third world problem?" This introductory environmental anthropology course examines how such imaginaries materialize in development programmes and literature, and bespeak charged geopolitical and racial histories; and invites reflection on what futures for working in common they enable/constrain. We will examine how crises are imagined and constructed, and the governance regimes they give rise to. How does water - as natural resource, public good, human right, need, or commodity - determine the contours of such regimes? We will also study chronic, quieter environmental problems and the responses they (do not) generate. Working through a variety of writing genres - ethnographies, policy literature, and legal and corporate publicity material - will enable students to appreciate what anthropology can contribute to the conversation on environmental justice, and state and corporate bureaucracies and their mandates. The course draws on examples from a wide range of settings. The course is offered as an introduction to environmental anthropology and takes students through key themes - infrastructure, race, class, privatization, justice, violence - by focusing on water. It requires no background in anthropology.
Last offered: Spring 2021 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ANTHRO 138: Medical Ethics in a Global World: Examining Race, Difference and Power in the Research Enterprise (ANTHRO 238, CSRE 138)

This course will explore historical as well as current market transformations of medical ethics in different global contexts. We will examine various aspects of the research enterprise, its knowledge-generating and life-saving goals, as well as the societal, cultural, and political influences that make medical research a site of brokering in need of oversight and emergent ethics.This seminar will provide students with tools to explore and critically assess the various technical, social, and ethical positions of researchers, as well as the role of the state, the media, and certain publics in shaping scientific research agendas. We will also examine how structural violence, poverty, global standing, and issues of citizenship also influence issues of consent and just science and medicine.
Last offered: Spring 2020 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

ARCHLGY 34: Animals and Us (ANTHRO 34)

The human-animal relationship is dynamic, all encompassing and durable. Without exception, all socio-cultural groups have evidenced complex interactions with the animals around them, both domesticated and wild. However, the individual circumstances of these interactions are hugely complicated, and involve much more than direct human-animal contact, going far beyond this to incorporate social, ecological and spiritual contexts.This course delves into this complexity, covering the gamut of social roles played by animals, as well as the methods and approaches to studying these, both traditional and scientific. While the notion of `animals as social actors is well acknowledged, their use as proxies for human autecology (the relationship between a species and its environment) is also increasingly recognized as a viable mechanism for understanding our cultural and economic past. It will piece together the breadth of human-animal relationships using a wide geographic range of case studies.
Last offered: Autumn 2020 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

ARCHLGY 80: Heritage and Human Rights (ANTHRO 80A)

What does archaeology have to say about human rights? Is there a right to cultural heritage? How can archaeology and heritage help protect rights¿or encroach upon them? Themes we will address in this course include the archaeological investigation of human rights topics; the right to heritage; conflicts of different rights regimes in heritage contexts; and ethical considerations about rights during research and heritage management. These questions will take us to cases as diverse as forensic investigation of the disappeared in Argentina, the archaeology of homelessness in the U.K., the destruction of heritage as cultural genocide in Bosnia and the Middle East, and the rights of indigenous groups in Australia and the U.S. to control cultural heritage.
Last offered: Spring 2019 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

BIO 184: Environmental Humanities: Finding Our Place on a Changing Planet (ENGLISH 140D, SUSTAIN 140)

The rapid degradation of our planet threatens the health and survival of communities and ecosystems around the world. How did we get here? What cultural, philosophical, and ethical challenges underlie the separation of humanity from nature and precipitate unprecedented ecological destruction? How can we make sense of this, and how can we reimagine a more connected future? Through engaging the work of environmental philosophers, cultural ecologists, artists, humanities scholars, Indigenous leaders, and others with land-based knowledge, this course will prompt you to think deeply about humanity's place in the world and explore strategies to change our course. Together, we will explore contrasting cultural paradigms around human-nature relationships and apply learnings to action - including through final projects that involve external audiences in meaningful environmental contemplation or impact.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

BIO 185: Where the Wild Things Are: The Ecology and Ethics of Conserving Megafauna (DLCL 170, EALC 170, EARTHSYS 170, GLOBAL 170)

Under conditions of global environmental change and mass extinction, how will humanity share the planet with wildlife? This course invites undergraduate students to consider this question under the guidance of two biologists and a literary scholar. We will engage with a range of interdisciplinary scholarship on how humans seek to study, understand, exploit, protect, and empathize with charismatic megafauna. We ask how regional differences in culture, political economy, and ecology shape conservation efforts.
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA

BIOE 131: Ethics in Bioengineering (ETHICSOC 131X)

Bioengineering focuses on the development and application of new technologies in the biology and medicine. These technologies often have powerful effects on living systems at the microscopic and macroscopic level. They can provide great benefit to society, but they also can be used in dangerous or damaging ways. These effects may be positive or negative, and so it is critical that bioengineers understand the basic principles of ethics when thinking about how the technologies they develop can and should be applied. On a personal level, every bioengineer should understand the basic principles of ethical behavior in the professional setting. This course will involve substantial writing, and will use case-study methodology to introduce both societal and personal ethical principles, with a focus on practical applications
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

CHINA 20: Humanities Core: Dao, Virtue, and Nature -- Foundations of East Asian Thought (HUMCORE 20, JAPAN 20, KOREA 20)

This course explores the values and questions posed in the formative period of East Asian civilizations. Notions of a Dao ("Way") are common to Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, but those systems of thought have radically different ideas about what that Dao is and how it might be realized in society and an individual's life. These systems of thought appeared first in China, and eventually spread to Korea and Japan. Each culture developed its own ways of reconciling the competing systems, but in each case the comprehensive structure of values and human ideals differs significantly from those that appeared elsewhere in the ancient world. The course examines East Asian ideas about self-cultivation, harmonious society, rulership, and the relation between human and nature with a view toward expanding our understanding of these issues in human history, and highlighting their legacies in Asian civilizations today. The course features selective readings in classics of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist texts that present the foundational tenets of Asian thought. N. B. This is the first of three courses in the Humanities Core, East Asian track. These courses show how history and ideas shape our world and future. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to the life of the mind.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

CHINA 23N: Heroes and Heroism

The seminar examines concepts and models of heroism in three paradigmatic ancient traditions: China, Greece, and Rome. Our inquiry is guided by the following questions: What qualities and experiences define someone as a hero? If heroism is not all about excellence, brilliance and glory, what makes heroes exceptional and inspiring figures? How does courage relate to other virtues such as integrity, loyalty, fortitude, and self-sacrifice? Is heroism compatible with fear, shame, and humiliation? How do heroes become what they are, what role do education and imitation play? Is courage a gendered virtue? Does the ethical importance of heroism rest on the fact that heroes are typically confronted with extraordinary choices about life and death, honor and ignominy, freedom and suffering, and survival and immortality? Finally, how do different cultures shape and enrich our answers to the above questions?
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Zhou, Y. (PI)

CHINA 70N: Animal Planet and the Romance of the Species (COMPLIT 70N)

Preference to freshmen.This course considers a variety of animal characters in Chinese and Western literatures as potent symbols of cultural values and dynamic sites of ethical reasoning. What does pervasive animal imagery tell us about how we relate to the world and our neighbors? How do animals define the frontiers of humanity and mediate notions of civilization and culture? How do culture, institutions, and political economy shape concepts of human rights and animal welfare? And, above all, what does it mean to be human in the pluralistic and planetary 21st century? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Last offered: Winter 2019 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

CHINA 146: Political Thought in Modern Asia (CHINA 246, ETHICSOC 146, POLISCI 235N, POLISCI 335N)

The study of political theory in the United States has been accused of being Western-centric: We tend to focus on intellectual traditions from Plato to NATO, while ignoring the vast world of non-Western societies and the ways they think about politics and public life. How do Chinese thinkers conceptualize human rights and good governance? How do Indian intellectuals reconcile democracy and inherited hierarchies in Hinduism? How do Islamic scholars view the relationship between religious authority and secular authority? Should we regard liberal democracy, or Western civilization more broadly, as representing the universal value guiding every society? Or, should we learn from non-Western ideas and values so as to solve problems plaguing Western societies? How can competing visions of good life coexist in a globalized and increasingly pluralistic world? This course aims to answer these questions by exploring three Asian traditions and their perspectives on politics: Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islam. We will focus on the modern period (19th-21st centuries) and the ways intellectuals in these societies respond to the challenge of modernity and Western superiority. Special attention is given to how these intellectuals conceive of the relationship between modernity and their respective traditions: Are they compatible or mutually exclusive? In which ways do intellectuals interpret these traditions so as to render them (in)compatible with modernity? We will read academic articles written by Anglophone scholars as well as original texts written by non-Western thinkers. No knowledge of non-Western languages is required.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

CHINA 246: Political Thought in Modern Asia (CHINA 146, ETHICSOC 146, POLISCI 235N, POLISCI 335N)

The study of political theory in the United States has been accused of being Western-centric: We tend to focus on intellectual traditions from Plato to NATO, while ignoring the vast world of non-Western societies and the ways they think about politics and public life. How do Chinese thinkers conceptualize human rights and good governance? How do Indian intellectuals reconcile democracy and inherited hierarchies in Hinduism? How do Islamic scholars view the relationship between religious authority and secular authority? Should we regard liberal democracy, or Western civilization more broadly, as representing the universal value guiding every society? Or, should we learn from non-Western ideas and values so as to solve problems plaguing Western societies? How can competing visions of good life coexist in a globalized and increasingly pluralistic world? This course aims to answer these questions by exploring three Asian traditions and their perspectives on politics: Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islam. We will focus on the modern period (19th-21st centuries) and the ways intellectuals in these societies respond to the challenge of modernity and Western superiority. Special attention is given to how these intellectuals conceive of the relationship between modernity and their respective traditions: Are they compatible or mutually exclusive? In which ways do intellectuals interpret these traditions so as to render them (in)compatible with modernity? We will read academic articles written by Anglophone scholars as well as original texts written by non-Western thinkers. No knowledge of non-Western languages is required.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

CLASSICS 14N: Ecology in Philosophy and Literature

What can we do to help the environment? How do our conceptions of the environment affect our actions? In this class, we examine the basic principles of ecological thinking in Western culture. We explore the ways that different writers represent and conceive of the natural world. We also analyze different environmental philosophies. We will address the following questions: What is nature? Who decides what is "natural"? How do humans differ from other animals? Do these differences make us superior beings? How do our eating habits affect the earth? What are the philosophical arguments for vegetarianism and veganism? How have the technologies of television, cell phones, and computers affected our relationship to the natural world? To what extent do we dwell in cyberspace? How does this affect our habitation on earth? How does modern technology inform the way that we think and act in the world? To help us answer these questions, we read nature writers (Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard), philosophers (Descartes, Heidegger), short stories (Kafka, Ursula le Guin), novelists (Conrad, Tournier) and contemporary writers (Peter Singer, Michael Pollan, Elizabeth Kolbert).
Last offered: Spring 2019 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

CLASSICS 17N: To Die For: Antigone and Political Dissent (TAPS 12N)

(Formerly CLASSGEN 6N.) Preference to freshmen. Tensions inherent in the democracy of ancient Athens; how the character of Antigone emerges in later drama, film, and political thought as a figure of resistance against illegitimate authority; and her relevance to contemporary struggles for women's and workers' rights and national liberation. Readings and screenings include versions of "Antigone" by Sophocles, Anouilh, Brecht, Fugard/Kani/Ntshona, Paulin, Glowacki, Gurney, and von Trotta.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

CLASSICS 35: The Good Life: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Ethical Philosophy

The ancient Greeks longed for happiness, but life often led to suffering and anxiety. In ancient Greece, the traditional value system focused on gaining honor, wealth, power, and success - external goods that could be taken away at any time. The Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle set forth ethical theories designed to alleviate suffering and anxiety. They rejected the traditional Greek value system, focusing on inner goodness rather than on external rewards. Developing inner goodness was the only way to live a happy and fulfilled life. In this class, we read Greek tragedies by Sophocles and Euripides that represent traditional Greek values. We examine the values, motivation, and choices of tragic characters who faced difficult ethical dilemmas - choices that led to misery and ruin. What were their tragic flaws? Could they have avoided their fates by adopting a different value system? We also examine the ethical theories of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. We analyze their discussions of justice, courage, friendship, love, and self-knowledge. Do these philosophical theories offer a valid way to live a happy life? Can we develop these virtues? If so, how do we do this? Do we need to have these virtues to live a happy life? Do the ancient philosophers offer useful solutions to ethical questions in our own day? Can their philosophies help us to become better and happier people?
Last offered: Spring 2021 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

CLASSICS 116: Human Rights in Comparative and Historical Perspective (CLASSICS 216, ETHICSOC 106, HUMRTS 106)

The course examines core human rights concepts and issues as they arise in a variety of contexts ranging from the ancient world to today. These issues include slavery, human trafficking, gender based violence, discrimination against marginalized groups, and how these and other issues are linked to war, internal conflict, and imperialism. We will consider the ways in which such issues emerge, are explicitly treated, or are ignored in a variety of historical and contemporary settings with a particular emphasis on the impact that war and conflict have on laws and norms that in principle aim to protect individuals from violence and exploitation. This inquiry also entails consideration of the modern notion of the universality of human rights based on a conception of a common humanity and how alien that concept is in states and communities that define or embody hierarchies that systematically exclude groups or populations from the protections and respect that other groups and individuals are afforded. Nowhere do the devastating consequences of such exclusions become clearer than in times of crisis and conflict. The course draws upon a variety of case studies from the Greco-Roman world and other temporal and geographical contexts to explore the political and social dynamics that shape and inform the violence inherent in such events.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

CLASSICS 133: Socrates and Social Justice (CLASSICS 233)

In this class, we examine whether Socrates is a model for social justice. Socrates presents a complicated figure regarding issues of political action and social justice. Some view Socrates as a champion of liberty and individual conscience. Others see him as quiescent when Athenian democracy needed defenders or, even worse, allied with those who undermined democracy. By reading relevant selections from Plato in conjunction with contemporary scholarship, we will decide for ourselves whether Socrates is an exemplar of social justice.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

CLASSICS 149: Democracy Ancient and Modern: From Politics to Political Theory (CLASSICS 249, PHIL 176J, PHIL 276J, POLISCI 231A, POLISCI 331A)

Modern political theorists, from Hobbes and Rousseau, to Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, to Sheldon Wolin and Robert Dahl, have turned to the classical Greek theory and practice of politics, both for inspiration and as a critical target. The last 30 years has seen renewed interest in Athenian democracy among both historians and theorists, and closer interaction between empiricists concerned with 'what really happened, and why' and theorists concerned with the possibilities and limits of citizen self-government as a normatively favored approach to political organization. The course examines the current state of scholarship on the practice of politics in ancient city-states, including but not limited to democratic Athens; the relationship between practice and theory in antiquity (Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and others); the uses to which ancient theory and practice have been and are being put by modern political theorists; and experiments in democratic practice (citizen assemblies, deliberative councils, lotteries) inspired by ancient precedents. Suggested Prerequisites: Origins of Political Thought OR The Greeks OR other coursework on ancient political theory or practice. (For undergraduate students: suggest but do not require that you have taken either Origins of Political Thought, or The Greeks, or some other course that gives you some introduction to Greek political history or thought. )
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Ober, J. (PI)

CLASSICS 181: Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 381, ETHICSOC 130A, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)

Political philosophy in classical antiquity, centered on reading canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle against other texts and against the political and historical background. Topics include: interdependence, legitimacy, justice; political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

COLLEGE 102: Citizenship in the 21st Century

Citizenship is not just what passport you hold or where you were born. Citizenship also means equal membership in a self-governing political community. We will explore some of the many debates about this ideal: Who is (or ought to be) included in citizenship? Who gets to decide? What responsibilities come with citizenship? Is citizenship analogous to being a friend, a family member, a business partner? How have people excluded from citizenship fought for, and sometimes won, inclusion? These debates have a long history, featuring in some of the earliest recorded philosophy and literature but also animating current political debates in the United States and elsewhere.
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

COLLEGE 109: Rules of War

What ethical norms influence decisions to go to war and the conduct of military operations in war? How are those ethical values reflected in legal rules that govern war? What kinds of security threats or humanitarian dangers justify recourse to force? What are the values and rules that protect civilians and non-combatants in armed conflict? How do these rules apply in non-traditional, asymmetric conflicts between states and terrorist and other non-state groups? How do we determine in which kinds of conflicts to apply the moral and legal framework that governs war?
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

COLLEGE 111: The Ethical Challenges of the Global Climate Crisis

Climate change is now a global crisis. The notion that countries can each individually deal with it and ignore the fact that it ignores borders has long been recognized as unrealistic and counterproductive. Yet the international community has time and again for more than three decades fallen far short of what the global scientific community warns is necessary to stave off catastrophe soon. Fortunately, governments and the fossil fuel industry that still holds undue influence over them are not the only entities that will determine whether humanity can survive on the only planet in the universe known so far to support life. Thanks to massive global activism, especially among youth and people on the frontlines of the climate crisis, and a revolution in ever more affordable and scalable clean energy, especially solar, wind, geothermal, electric vehicles, and battery storage, the global political climate surrounding what is economically and technologically possible is rapidly changing.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Wolfe, M. (PI)

COMM 135W: Deliberative Democracy and its Critics (AMSTUD 135, COMM 235, COMM 335, ETHICSOC 135F, POLISCI 234P, POLISCI 334P)

This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

COMM 137W: The Dialogue of Democracy (AMSTUD 137, COMM 237, POLISCI 232T, POLISCI 332T)

All forms of democracy require some kind of communication so people can be aware of issues and make decisions. This course looks at competing visions of what democracy should be and different notions of the role of dialogue in a democracy. Is it just campaigning or does it include deliberation? Small scale discussions or sound bites on television? Or social media? What is the role of technology in changing our democratic practices, to mobilize, to persuade, to solve public problems? This course will include readings from political theory about democratic ideals - from the American founders to J.S. Mill and the Progressives to Joseph Schumpeter and modern writers skeptical of the public will. It will also include contemporary examinations of the media and the internet to see how those practices are changing and how the ideals can or cannot be realized.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

COMM 180: Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change (CS 182, ETHICSOC 182, PHIL 82, POLISCI 182, PUBLPOL 182)

Examination of recent developments in computing technology and platforms through the lenses of philosophy, public policy, social science, and engineering.  Course is organized around five main units: algorithmic decision-making and bias; data privacy and civil liberties; artificial intelligence and autonomous systems; the power of private computing platforms; and issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology sector.  Each unit considers the promise, perils, rights, and responsibilities at play in technological developments. Prerequisite: CS106A.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

COMPLIT 31: Texts that Changed the World from the Ancient Middle East (HUMCORE 111, JEWISHST 150, RELIGST 150)

This course traces the story of the cradle of human civilization. We will begin with the earliest human stories, the Gilgamesh Epic and biblical literature, and follow the path of the development of law, religion, philosophy and literature in the ancient Mediterranean or Middle Eastern world, to the emergence of Jewish and Christian thinking. We will pose questions about how this past continues to inform our present: What stories, myths, and ideas remain foundational to us? How did the stories and myths shape civilizations and form larger communities? How did the earliest stories conceive of human life and the divine? What are the ideas about the order of nature, and the place of human life within that order? How is the relationship between the individual and society constituted? This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

COMPLIT 70N: Animal Planet and the Romance of the Species (CHINA 70N)

Preference to freshmen.This course considers a variety of animal characters in Chinese and Western literatures as potent symbols of cultural values and dynamic sites of ethical reasoning. What does pervasive animal imagery tell us about how we relate to the world and our neighbors? How do animals define the frontiers of humanity and mediate notions of civilization and culture? How do culture, institutions, and political economy shape concepts of human rights and animal welfare? And, above all, what does it mean to be human in the pluralistic and planetary 21st century? Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take course for a Letter Grade.
Last offered: Winter 2019 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

COMPLIT 199: Senior Seminar

What is theory, and how (and why) do we do it in Comparative Literature? Senior seminar for Comparative Literature Senior majors only.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Palumbo-Liu, D. (PI)

COMPLIT 258A: Existentialism, from Moral Quest to Novelistic Form (ILAC 211, ILAC 311)

This seminar intends to follow the development of Existentialism from its genesis to its literary expressions in the European postwar. The notions of defining commitment, of moral ambiguity, the project of the self, and the critique of humanism will be studied in selected texts by Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Unamuno, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Joan Sales.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

CS 181: Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy

Ethical and social issues related to the development and use of computer technology. Ethical theory, and social, political, and legal considerations. Scenarios in problem areas: privacy, reliability and risks of complex systems, and responsibility of professionals for applications and consequences of their work. Prerequisite: CS106A. To take this course, students need permission of instructor and may need to complete an assignment due at the first day of class. Please see https://cs181.stanford.edu for more information.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

CS 181W: Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy (WIM)

Writing-intensive version of CS181. Satisfies the WIM requirement for Computer Science, Engineering Physics, STS, and Math/Comp Sci undergraduates. To take this course, students need permission of instructor and may need to complete an assignment due at the first day of class. Please see https://cs181.stanford.edu for more information.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

CS 182: Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change (COMM 180, ETHICSOC 182, PHIL 82, POLISCI 182, PUBLPOL 182)

Examination of recent developments in computing technology and platforms through the lenses of philosophy, public policy, social science, and engineering.  Course is organized around five main units: algorithmic decision-making and bias; data privacy and civil liberties; artificial intelligence and autonomous systems; the power of private computing platforms; and issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology sector.  Each unit considers the promise, perils, rights, and responsibilities at play in technological developments. Prerequisite: CS106A.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

CS 182W: Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change (WIM)

Writing-intensive version of CS182. Satisfies the WIM requirement for Computer Science, Engineering Physics, STS, Math/Comp Sci, and Data Science undergraduates (and is only open to those majors). Prerequisite: CS106A. See CS182 for lecture day/time information. Enroll in either CS 182 or CS 182W,not both. Enrollment in WIM version of the course is limited to 125students. Enrollment is restricted to seniors and coterminal students until January 9, 2023. Starting January 9, 2023, enrollment will open to all students if additional spaces remain available in the class.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

CSRE 94: Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Empathy, Ethics, and Compassion Meditation (PWR 194DH)

Does not fulfill NSC requirement. In this course, we'll extend this discussion by expanding our thinking about rhetoric as a means of persuasion to consider its relation to empathy-as a mode of listening to and understanding audiences and communities we identify with as well as those whose beliefs and actions can be lethal. We'll also practice compassion medication and empathetic rhetoric to see how these ethical stances affect us individually and investigate the ways they may and may not be scaled to address social justice more broadly. Finally, with the course readings and discussions in mind, you will explore a social justice issue and create an essay, a workshop, campaign or movement strategy, podcast, vlog, infographic, Facebook group, syllabus, etc. to help move us closer to positive change. Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.
Last offered: Autumn 2017 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

CSRE 123C: "Third World Problems?" Environmental Justice Around the World (ANTHRO 123C)

As the Flint, Michigan water situation began to attract attention and condemnation, Michigan State Representative, Sheldon Neeley, describing the troops on the ground and the Red Cross distributing water bottles, said that the Governor had "turned an American city into a Third World country [...] it's terrible what he's done [...] no fresh water. Then, at a Congressional hearing, the Chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee said, "This is the United States of America - this isn't supposed to happen here. We are not some Third World country."What is a "third world problem?" This introductory environmental anthropology course examines how such imaginaries materialize in development programmes and literature, and bespeak charged geopolitical and racial histories; and invites reflection on what futures for working in common they enable/constrain. We will examine how crises are imagined and constructed, and the governance regimes they give rise to. How does water - as natural resource, public good, human right, need, or commodity - determine the contours of such regimes? We will also study chronic, quieter environmental problems and the responses they (do not) generate. Working through a variety of writing genres - ethnographies, policy literature, and legal and corporate publicity material - will enable students to appreciate what anthropology can contribute to the conversation on environmental justice, and state and corporate bureaucracies and their mandates. The course draws on examples from a wide range of settings. The course is offered as an introduction to environmental anthropology and takes students through key themes - infrastructure, race, class, privatization, justice, violence - by focusing on water. It requires no background in anthropology.
Last offered: Spring 2021 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

CSRE 126C: Ethics and Leadership in Public Service (EDUC 126A, ETHICSOC 79, LEAD 126A, URBANST 126A)

This course explores ethical questions that arise in public service work, as well as leadership theory and skills relevant to public service work. Through readings, discussions, in-class activities, assignments, and guest lectures, students will develop a foundation and vision for a future of ethical and effective service leadership. This course serves as a gateway for interested students to participate in the Haas Center's Public Service Leadership Program.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lobo, K. (PI)

CSRE 138: Medical Ethics in a Global World: Examining Race, Difference and Power in the Research Enterprise (ANTHRO 138, ANTHRO 238)

This course will explore historical as well as current market transformations of medical ethics in different global contexts. We will examine various aspects of the research enterprise, its knowledge-generating and life-saving goals, as well as the societal, cultural, and political influences that make medical research a site of brokering in need of oversight and emergent ethics.This seminar will provide students with tools to explore and critically assess the various technical, social, and ethical positions of researchers, as well as the role of the state, the media, and certain publics in shaping scientific research agendas. We will also examine how structural violence, poverty, global standing, and issues of citizenship also influence issues of consent and just science and medicine.
Last offered: Spring 2020 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

CSRE 141R: Between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, JR.: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Freedom (AFRICAAM 221, AMSTUD 141X, HISTORY 151M, POLISCI 126, RELIGST 141)

Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both icons of the twentieth-century civil rights and black freedom movements. Often characterized as polar opposites - one advocating armed self-defense and the other non-violence against all provocation - they continue to be important religious, political, and intellectual models for how we imagine the past as well as for current issues concerning religion, race, politics and freedom struggles in the United States and globally. This course focuses on the political and spiritual lives of Martin and Malcolm. We will examine their personal biographies, speeches, writings, representations, FBI Files, and legacies as a way to better understand how the intersections of religion, race, and politics came to bare upon the freedom struggles of people of color in the US and abroad. The course also takes seriously the evolutions in both Martin and Malcolm's political approaches and intellectual development, focusing especially on the last years of their respective lives. We will also examine the critical literature that takes on the leadership styles and political philosophies of these communal leaders, as well as the very real opposition and surveillance they faced from state forces like the police and FBI. Students will gain an understanding of what social conditions, religious structures and institutions, and personal experiences led to first the emergence and then the assassinations of these two figures. We will discuss the subtleties of their political analyses, pinpointing the key differences and similarities of their philosophies, approaches, and legacies, and we will apply these debates of the mid- twentieth century to contemporary events and social movements in terms of how their legacies are articulated and what we can learn from them in struggles for justice and recognition in twenty-first century America and beyond.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

CSRE 178: Ethics and Politics of Public Service (ETHICSOC 133, PHIL 175A, PHIL 275A, POLISCI 133, PUBLPOL 103D, URBANST 122)

Public service is private action for the public good, work done by individuals and groups that aims at some vision of helping society or the world. This course examines some of the many ethical and political questions that arise in doing public service work, whether volunteering, service learning, humanitarian endeavors overseas, or public service professions such as medicine, teaching, or even "ethical investing" and "ethical entrepreneurship." What motives do people have to engage in public service work? Are self-interested motives troublesome? What is the connection between service work and justice? Should the government or schools require citizens or students to perform service work? Is mandatory service an oxymoron?
Last offered: Spring 2018 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER

CSRE 194SS: Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: Making Rhetoric Matter: Human Rights at Home (PWR 194SS)

'Human rights' often sounds like it needs defending in far-off places: in distant public squares where soldiers menace gatherings of citizens, in dark jails where prisoners are tortured for their politics, in unknown streets where gender inequality has brutal consequences. But Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer fighting for social and racial justice in the jails of Alabama, proposes that we try 'proximity': that we get close to the injustices that are already close to us. This class thus takes human rights as a local issue, focusing on how terms like 'human' and 'rights' are interpreted on our campus and in our neighborhoods, cities, and region. Instead of a traditional human rights policy framework, we'll use the lens of intersectional ethics to explore specific rhetorical issues in gender politics, citizenship, higher education, police brutality, and mass incarceration. We will write, speak, and move across genres, responding to the work of incarcerated artists, creating embodied workshops, 'translating' ideas into new media (does someone you know need an animated video about gender pronouns? Or maybe it's time for a podcast about #PrisonRenaissance?), doing collaborative research, and 'writing back' to our audiences. For course video and full description see: https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-courses/making-rhetoric-matter-human-rights-home.nnThis course is part of the PWR advanced elective track in Social and Racial Justice (SRJ). Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.
Last offered: Spring 2017 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

DLCL 52: Global Humanities: The Grand Millennium, 800-1800 (HISTORY 206D, HUMCORE 52, JAPAN 52)

How should we live? This course explores ethical pathways in European, Islamic, and East Asian traditions: mysticism and rationality, passion and duty, this and other worldly, ambition and peace of mind. They all seem to be pairs of opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow two or more of them at once. We will read works by successful thinkers, travelers, poets, lovers, and bureaucrats written between 800 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about what is a life well lived.
Last offered: Winter 2020 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

DLCL 170: Where the Wild Things Are: The Ecology and Ethics of Conserving Megafauna (BIO 185, EALC 170, EARTHSYS 170, GLOBAL 170)

Under conditions of global environmental change and mass extinction, how will humanity share the planet with wildlife? This course invites undergraduate students to consider this question under the guidance of two biologists and a literary scholar. We will engage with a range of interdisciplinary scholarship on how humans seek to study, understand, exploit, protect, and empathize with charismatic megafauna. We ask how regional differences in culture, political economy, and ecology shape conservation efforts.
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA

EALC 170: Where the Wild Things Are: The Ecology and Ethics of Conserving Megafauna (BIO 185, DLCL 170, EARTHSYS 170, GLOBAL 170)

Under conditions of global environmental change and mass extinction, how will humanity share the planet with wildlife? This course invites undergraduate students to consider this question under the guidance of two biologists and a literary scholar. We will engage with a range of interdisciplinary scholarship on how humans seek to study, understand, exploit, protect, and empathize with charismatic megafauna. We ask how regional differences in culture, political economy, and ecology shape conservation efforts.
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA

EARTHSYS 107: Control of Nature (ESS 107)

Think controlling the earth's climate is science fiction? It is when you watch Snowpiercer or Dune, but scientists are already devising geoengineering schemes to slow climate change. Will we ever resurrect the woolly mammoth or even a T. Rex (think Jurassic Park)? Based on current research, that day will come in your lifetime. Who gets to decide what species to save? And more generally, what scientific and ethical principles should guide our decisions to control nature? In this course, we will examine the science behind ways that people alter and engineer the earth, critically examining the positive and negative consequences. We'll explore these issues first through popular movies and books and then, more substantively, in scientific research.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

EARTHSYS 170: Where the Wild Things Are: The Ecology and Ethics of Conserving Megafauna (BIO 185, DLCL 170, EALC 170, GLOBAL 170)

Under conditions of global environmental change and mass extinction, how will humanity share the planet with wildlife? This course invites undergraduate students to consider this question under the guidance of two biologists and a literary scholar. We will engage with a range of interdisciplinary scholarship on how humans seek to study, understand, exploit, protect, and empathize with charismatic megafauna. We ask how regional differences in culture, political economy, and ecology shape conservation efforts.
Terms: Aut, Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA

EARTHSYS 178M: Introduction to Environmental Ethics (ETHICSOC 178M, ETHICSOC 278M, PHIL 178M, PHIL 278M, POLISCI 134L)

How should human beings interact with the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? In this course, we will tackle ethical questions that confront us in our dealings with the natural world, looking at subjects such as: animal rights; conservation; economic approaches to the environment; access to and control over natural resources; environmental justice and pollution; climate change; technology and the environment; and environmental activism. We will frame our inquiry with leading ethical theories and divide our approach to these topics by ecosystem, dedicating time to each unique environment and its specific nuances: aquatic, desert/tundra, forest/grassland, and the increasingly recognized environment of Space.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

EDUC 126A: Ethics and Leadership in Public Service (CSRE 126C, ETHICSOC 79, LEAD 126A, URBANST 126A)

This course explores ethical questions that arise in public service work, as well as leadership theory and skills relevant to public service work. Through readings, discussions, in-class activities, assignments, and guest lectures, students will develop a foundation and vision for a future of ethical and effective service leadership. This course serves as a gateway for interested students to participate in the Haas Center's Public Service Leadership Program.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lobo, K. (PI)

EDUC 147: Stanford and Its Worlds: 1885-present (HISTORY 58E)

The past and future of Stanford University examined through the development of five critical "worlds," including the Western region of the United States, the US nation-state, the global academy, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the complex phenomena summarized by the name Silicon Valley. Students are asked to consider and theorize these worlds, their interrelationships, and the responsibilities they entail for all of us who live and work at Stanford in the present.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

EDUC 204: Introduction to Philosophy of Education (ETHICSOC 204)

How to think philosophically about educational problems. Recent influential scholarship in philosophy of education. No previous study in philosophy required.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Cox, G. (PI)

EDUC 217: Free Speech, Academic Freedom, and Democracy (ETHICSOC 217X, PHIL 278C)

The course examines connected ideas of free speech, academic freedom, and democratic legitimacy that are still widely shared by many of us but have been subject to skeptical pressures both outside and inside the academy in recent years. The course explores the principled basis of these ideas, how well they might (or might not) be defended against skeptical challenge, and how they might be applied in particular controversies about the rights of students, instructors, and researchers.
Last offered: Spring 2020 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ENERGY 177A: Engineering and Sustainable Development: Toolkit (ENERGY 277A)

The first of a two-quarter, project-based course sequence that address cultural, sociopolitical, organizational, technical, and ethical issues at the heart of implementing sustainable engineering projects in a developing world. Students work in interdisciplinary project teams to tackle real-world design challenges in partnership with social entrepreneurs, local communities, and/or NGOs. While students must have the skills and aptitude necessary to make meaningful contributions to technical product designs, the course is open to all backgrounds and majors. The first quarter focuses on cultural awareness, ethical implications, user requirements, conceptual design, feasibility analysis, and implementation planning. Admission is by application. Students should plan to enroll in ENERGY 177B/277B Engineering & Sustainable Development: Implementation following successful completion of this course. Designated a Cardinal Course by the Haas Center for Public Service. To satisfy a Ways requirement, students must register for an undergraduate course number (ENERGY 177A) and this course must be taken for at least 3 units.
Terms: Win | Units: 1-3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER | Repeatable 2 times (up to 6 units total)

ENGLISH 39Q: Were They Really "Hard Times"? Mid-Victorian Social Movements and Charles Dickens (HISTORY 39Q)

"It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it." So begins Charles Dickens description of Coketown in Hard Times. And it only seems to get more grim from there. But the world that Dickens sought to portray in the novel was a hopeful one, too. And that tension is our starting point. The intent of this class is to more closely examine mid-Victorian Britain in light of Dickens' novel, with particular focus on the rise of some of our modern social movements in the 19th century. While things like the labor movement, abolitionism, feminism, and environmentalism, are not the same now as they were then, this class will explore the argument that the 21st century is still, in some ways, working out 19th century problems and questions. At the same time, this is also a course that seeks to expand the kinds of sources we traditionally use as historians. Thus, while recognizing that literary sources are particularly complex, we will use Hard Times as a guide to our exploration to this fascinating era. We will seek both to better understand this complex, transitional time and to assess the accuracy of Dickens' depictions of socio-political life.Through a combination of short response papers, creative Victorian projects (such as sending a hand-written letter to a classmate), and a final paper/project, this course will give you the opportunity to learn more about the 19th century and the value of being historically minded.As a seminar based course, discussion amongst members of the class is vital. All students are welcome
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Wolfenstein, G. (PI)

ENGLISH 67N: The Ethical Gangster: How to be Moral, How to be Good--Mafia Style

Is there a difference between being moral and being good? Does it matter? Does knowing the difference matter at all to how a person should conduct him or herself in close relationships, in social groups, in professional life, in politics? The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes. This class will explore human moral psychology: the intuitions we have about right and wrong, fair and unfair, harm, justice, loyalty, authority, sanctity, freedom and oppression. We will then relate these intuitions to systematic ethical theories of right and wrong. We will do so by immersing ourselves in a somewhat surprising source¿the greatest hits of Mafia movies from Little Caesar to The Sopranos. We will also consider recent findings in experimental moral psychology.
Last offered: Spring 2023 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ENGLISH 140D: Environmental Humanities: Finding Our Place on a Changing Planet (BIO 184, SUSTAIN 140)

The rapid degradation of our planet threatens the health and survival of communities and ecosystems around the world. How did we get here? What cultural, philosophical, and ethical challenges underlie the separation of humanity from nature and precipitate unprecedented ecological destruction? How can we make sense of this, and how can we reimagine a more connected future? Through engaging the work of environmental philosophers, cultural ecologists, artists, humanities scholars, Indigenous leaders, and others with land-based knowledge, this course will prompt you to think deeply about humanity's place in the world and explore strategies to change our course. Together, we will explore contrasting cultural paradigms around human-nature relationships and apply learnings to action - including through final projects that involve external audiences in meaningful environmental contemplation or impact.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ENGLISH 224: Doing Literary History: Orwell in the World (HISTORY 200K)

This course will bring together the disciplines of history and literary studies by looking closely at the work of one major twentieth-century author: the British writer and political polemicist George Orwell. In 1946, Orwell writes, "What I have most wanted to do throughout the past ten years is to make political writing into an art." In these years, Orwell writes about-- and often participates in or witnesses first-hand--a series of major events and crises. These include British imperialism in Burma, urban poverty in Europe, class inequality in England, the conflict between Socialism and Fascism in Spain, and the rise of totalitarianism in the Soviet Union. In engaging all of these events, Orwell experiments with different literary forms, moving between fiction and non-fiction, novel and autobiography, essay and memoir, manifesto and fable, literature and journalism. Few writers demand such sustained and equal attention to text and context: in this course we will move back-and-forth between Orwell's varied writing and the urgent social and political contexts it addresses.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ENGR 148: Principled Entrepreneurial Decisions (ENGR 248)

Principled Entrepreneurial Decisions examines how leaders tackle significant inflection points that occur in high-growth entrepreneurial companies. Students learn how to develop principles as a powerful tool to face tough situations that they will encounter in their lives and their chosen career. Cases and guest speakers discuss not only the business rationale for the decisions taken but also how their principles affected those decisions. A capstone project provides frameworks for students to develop their own set of principles. The teaching team brings its wealth of experience in both entrepreneurship and VC investing to the class. Limited enrollment. Admission by application: https://forms.gle/VU36jjGwmsK54CsK9
Terms: Aut, Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

EPS 20: The Geoscience of Environmental Justice

(Formerly GEOLSCI 20) This course provides an introduction to environmental science concepts and geologic processes taught in the context of cases of environmental (in)justice in the United States. In addition to scientific learning objectives related to human impacts to the landscape, climate change and contaminant origin and fate, we discuss ethical theories and the economic and historical context throughout the course. Specific topics focus on climate change, food, air pollution, soils, contaminant migration, flooding, groundwater hydrology, sea level rise - all at an accessible, introductory level. This course has a community engagement opportunity. Change of Department Name: Earth and Planetary Science (Formerly Geologic Sciences).
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ESF 1: Education as Self-Fashioning: The Active, Inquiring, Beautiful Life

Moving through history from the Rome of the Emperor Hadrian, to the city-states of Renaissance Italy, to the 18th century republic of the United States, we will examine how self-made men fashioned themselves and their surroundings by educating themselves broadly. We will ask how a liberal education made their active careers richer and more transformational. We will also take up the great debate on whether a liberal education or vocational training is the surest path to advancement. We will engage this debate through the works of W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington but consider today's struggle over the same issues, a struggle that engrosses both highly industrialized and developing societies.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 1A: Education as Self-Fashioning: The Active, Inquiring, Beautiful Life

Moving through history from the Rome of the Emperor Hadrian, to the city-states of Renaissance Italy, to the 18th century republic of the United States, we will examine how self-made men fashioned themselves and their surroundings by educating themselves broadly.  We will ask how a liberal education made their active careers richer and more transformational. We will also take up the great debate on whether a liberal education or vocational training is the surest path to advancement.  We will engage this debate through the works of W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington but consider today's struggle over the same issues, a struggle that engrosses both highly industrialized and developing societies.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 6: Education as Self-Fashioning: The Wind of Freedom

Stanford's unofficial motto, "the wind of freedom blows," engraved in German on the university seal, invites us the ponder freedom in the context of education. What is the relation between freedom and the "liberal" arts? Does studying free your mind? Does free will even exist? If so, how does education help you develop its potential? This course will look at various authors -- from antiquity through the 20th century -- who have thought about the blessings, burdens, and obligations of human freedom. Beginning with Eve in the Garden of Eden, we will explore how exercising freedom in your personal choices and conduct not only determines your fate as an individual but carries with it a measure of responsibility for the world. We will place special emphasis on the implications of such responsibility in our own time.nFriday lectures will be held 9:30am-10:50am in Bishop Auditorium.
Last offered: Autumn 2018 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 6A: Education as Self-Fashioning: The Wind of Freedom

Stanford's unofficial motto, "the wind of freedom blows," engraved in German on the university seal, invites us the ponder freedom in the context of education. What is the relation between freedom and the "liberal" arts? Does studying free your mind? Does free will even exist? If so, how does education help you develop its potential? This course will look at various authors -- from antiquity through the 20th century -- who have thought about the blessings, burdens, and obligations of human freedom. Beginning with Eve in the Garden of Eden, we will explore how exercising freedom in your personal choices and conduct not only determines your fate as an individual but carries with it a measure of responsibility for the world. We will place special emphasis on the implications of such responsibility in our own time.
Last offered: Autumn 2017 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 7: Education as Self-Fashioning: The Transformation of the Self

Socrates famously claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates and other ancient thinkers examined themselves and found that they did not match up to their own ideals. They thus set out to transform themselves to achieve a good and happy life. What is the good life? How do we change ourselves to live a good and happy life? How do literature and philosophy help us to understand ourselves and to achieve our social, ethical, and personal ideals? In this class, we examine Socrates and Augustine's lives and ideas. Each struggled to live a good and happy life. In each case, they urge us to transform ourselves into better human beings. The first half of the course focuses on the Athenian Socrates, who was put to death because he rejected traditional Greek ideals and and proclaimed a new kind of ethical goodness. The second half focuses on the North African Augustine, an unhappy soul who became a new man by converting to Christianity. These thinkers addressed questions and problems that we still confront today: What do we consider to be a happy life? Do we need to be good and ethical people to live happily? Is there one correct set of values? How do we accommodate other people's beliefs? Is it possible to experience a transformation of the self? How exactly do we change ourselves to achieve our higher ideals?nFriday lectures will be held 9:30am-10:50am in Bishop Auditorium.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 7A: Education as Self-Fashioning: The Transformation of the Self

Socrates famously claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living.  Socrates and other ancient thinkers examined themselves and found that they did not match up to their own ideals.  They thus set out to transform themselves to achieve a good and happy life.  What is the good life?  How do we change ourselves to live a good and happy life?  How do literature and philosophy help us to understand ourselves and to achieve our social, ethical, and personal ideals? In this class, we examine Socrates and Augustine's lives and ideas.  Each struggled to live a good and happy life.  In each case, they urge us to transform ourselves into better human beings.  The first half of the course focuses on the Athenian Socrates, who was put to death because he rejected traditional Greek ideals and and proclaimed a new kind of ethical goodness.  The second half focuses on the North African Augustine, an unhappy soul who became a new man by converting to Christianity.  These thinkers addressed questions and problems that we still confront today:  What do we consider to be a happy life?  Do we need to be good and ethical people to live happily?  Is there one correct set of values?  How do we accommodate other people's beliefs?  Is it possible to experience a transformation of the self?  How exactly do we change ourselves to achieve our higher ideals?
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 8: Education as Self-Fashioning: Recognizing the Self and Its Possibilities

Some philosophers have argued that we have privileged and direct access to our inner selves. If this were true, it would make self-knowledge perhaps the easiest sort of knowledge to obtain. But there are many considerations that mitigate against this view of self-knowledge. Consider, for example, the slave who is so oppressed that he fully accepts his slavery and cannot even imagine the possibility of freedom for himself. Such a slave fails to recognize his own capacity for freedom and autonomous self-governance. Though the slave is perhaps the extreme case, many people, it seems, fail to recognize the full range of possibilities open to them. In this course, we shall examine both some of the ways in which one¿s capacity for self-recognition may be distorted and undermined and the role of education in enabling a person to fully recognize the self and its possibilities. What constrains the range of possibilities we see as really open to us? Contrary to the Cartesian, we shall argue that full self-recognition is an often a hard-won achievement. And we shall ask how education might function to give us a less constricted and more liberating sense of the self and its possibilities. We will consider such questions through the lens of philosophy, literature and psychology.nFriday lectures will be held 9:30am-10:50am in Bishop Auditorium.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 8A: Education as Self-Fashioning: Recognizing the Self and Its Possibilities

Some philosophers have argued that we have privileged and direct access to our inner selves. If this were true, it would make self-knowledge perhaps the easiest sort of knowledge to obtain. But there are many considerations that mitigate against this view of self-knowledge. Consider, for example, the slave who is so oppressed that he fully accepts his slavery and cannot even imagine the possibility of freedom for himself. Such a slave fails to recognize his own capacity for freedom and autonomous self-governance. Though the slave is perhaps the extreme case, many people, it seems, fail to recognize the full range of possibilities open to them. In this course, we shall examine both some of the ways in which one¿s capacity for self-recognition may be distorted and undermined and the role of education in enabling a person to fully recognize the self and its possibilities. What constrains the range of possibilities we see as really open to us? Contrary to the Cartesian, we shall argue that full self-recognition is an often a hard-won achievement. And we shall ask how education might function to give us a less constricted and more liberating sense of the self and its possibilities. We will consider such questions through the lens of philosophy, literature and psychology.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 12: Education as Self-Fashioning: The Greeks on Suffering, Beauty, and Wisdom

In Greek tragedies, a horrific catastrophe falls upon a person and brings on extreme suffering. For the Greeks, tragic plays offered the truth about life's calamities and horrors. The Greeks enjoyed these plays because the dramatic artistry made beauty out of horror and suffering. The Greeks did not believe that they controlled their fates. The Greeks had a "tragic wisdom" that enabled them to confront the hardships of life and the inevitability of death. This helped them to develop courage and resilience. Plato attacked this view and introduced a new kind of hero, the philosopher Socrates. As Plato claimed, we can control our fates by practicing philosophy: this enables us to become wise and ethically good. The philosopher strives for this goodness, which is beautiful in the highest possible way--it is our soul's true desire. Our inner goodness is under our control, so the good and wise person will stay happy even when calamities strike. Plato's optimistic philosophy flew in the face of Greek tragic wisdom. Plato offered a new way of living, one based on higher education, the development of knowledge, and the pursuit of true beauty and goodness. Do we believe that liberal education improves us ethically? Do we feel optimistic or pessimistic about life? To what extent can we control our lives and fates? How do tragic plays, movies, or TV shows represent the horrors that happen in the real world? Does the art that makes them beautiful and pleasurable help us to confront these horrors? Who are our heroes? What actions or qualities make them heroic? We read six tragedies by Sophocles and Euripides, and three Platonic dialogues (Apology, Symposium, Republic). We also read Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy, which sets forth the opposition between Greek "tragic wisdom" and Plato's "philosophic knowledge."
Last offered: Autumn 2017 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 12A: Education as Self-Fashioning: The Greeks on Suffering, Beauty, and Wisdom

In Greek tragedies, a horrific catastrophe falls upon a person and brings on extreme suffering. For the Greeks, tragic plays offered the truth about life's calamities and horrors. The Greeks enjoyed these plays because the dramatic artistry made beauty out of horror and suffering. The Greeks did not believe that they controlled their fates. The Greeks had a "tragic wisdom" that enabled them to confront the hardships of life and the inevitability of death. This helped them to develop courage and resilience. Plato attacked this view and introduced a new kind of hero, the philosopher Socrates. As Plato claimed, we can control our fates by practicing philosophy: this enables us to become wise and ethically good. The philosopher strives for this goodness, which is beautiful in the highest possible way--it is our soul's true desire. Our inner goodness is under our control, so the good and wise person will stay happy even when calamities strike. Plato's optimistic philosophy flew in the face of Greek tragic wisdom. Plato offered a new way of living, one based on higher education, the development of knowledge, and the pursuit of true beauty and goodness. Do we believe that liberal education improves us ethically? Do we feel optimistic or pessimistic about life? To what extent can we control our lives and fates? How do tragic plays, movies, or TV shows represent the horrors that happen in the real world? Does the art that makes them beautiful and pleasurable help us to confront these horrors? Who are our heroes? What actions or qualities make them heroic? We read six tragedies by Sophocles and Euripides, and three Platonic dialogues (Apology, Symposium, Republic). We also read Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy, which sets forth the opposition between Greek "tragic wisdom" and Plato's "philosophic knowledge."
Last offered: Autumn 2017 | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-ER, Writing 1

ESF 23: Heroes and Heroism

Drawing upon Chinese, Greek, and Roman literary, philosophical, and historical writings, the seminar would examine, in a comparative light, concepts of heroism and models of courage, fortitude, and leadership in these paradigmatic ancient traditions. Possible authors: Mencius, Sima Qian, Liu Xiang, Guan Hanqing, and Ji Junxiang; Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Virgil, and Seneca.
Terms: Aut | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ESF 23A: Heroes and Heroism

Drawing upon Chinese, Greek, and Roman literary, philosophical, and historical writings, the seminar would examine, in a comparative light, concepts of heroism and models of courage, fortitude, and leadership in these paradigmatic ancient traditions. Possible authors: Mencius, Sima Qian, Liu Xiang, Guan Hanqing, and Ji Junxiang; Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Virgil, and Seneca.
Terms: Aut | Units: 7 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ESS 107: Control of Nature (EARTHSYS 107)

Think controlling the earth's climate is science fiction? It is when you watch Snowpiercer or Dune, but scientists are already devising geoengineering schemes to slow climate change. Will we ever resurrect the woolly mammoth or even a T. Rex (think Jurassic Park)? Based on current research, that day will come in your lifetime. Who gets to decide what species to save? And more generally, what scientific and ethical principles should guide our decisions to control nature? In this course, we will examine the science behind ways that people alter and engineer the earth, critically examining the positive and negative consequences. We'll explore these issues first through popular movies and books and then, more substantively, in scientific research.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ESS 166: Will Technology Save the World?: Environmental Ethics and Techno-Optimism (ESS 266)

The environment is in crisis and we are the cause. In this class we examine our relationship to the environment, and our ethical obligations towards humans, non-human species, and the ecosystem more broadly. We will be doing this through the lens of technology, asking how novel eco-tech might help us solve the environmental crisis, including evaluating the risks, benefits, and ethics of proposed solutions like geo-engineering, genetic modification, and renewable energies. As part of this, we will consider who benefits from technological solutions, how we might need to change our relationship to nature, and whether societies are betting too much on the promise of future technologies to fix current environmental crises. The course will ground students in applied environmental ethics, teaching them how to apply ethical decision-making frameworks, including non-western ethical systems, with an emphasis on case studies and practical implementation.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 20: Introduction to Moral Philosophy (PHIL 2)

What should I do with my life? What kind of person should I be? How should we treat others? What makes actions right or wrong? What is good and what is bad? What should we value? How should we organize society? Is there any reason to be moral? Is morality relative or subjective? How, if at all, can such questions be answered? Intensive introduction to theories and techniques in contemporary moral philosophy.
Terms: Aut | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 79: Ethics and Leadership in Public Service (CSRE 126C, EDUC 126A, LEAD 126A, URBANST 126A)

This course explores ethical questions that arise in public service work, as well as leadership theory and skills relevant to public service work. Through readings, discussions, in-class activities, assignments, and guest lectures, students will develop a foundation and vision for a future of ethical and effective service leadership. This course serves as a gateway for interested students to participate in the Haas Center's Public Service Leadership Program.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lobo, K. (PI)

ETHICSOC 106: Human Rights in Comparative and Historical Perspective (CLASSICS 116, CLASSICS 216, HUMRTS 106)

The course examines core human rights concepts and issues as they arise in a variety of contexts ranging from the ancient world to today. These issues include slavery, human trafficking, gender based violence, discrimination against marginalized groups, and how these and other issues are linked to war, internal conflict, and imperialism. We will consider the ways in which such issues emerge, are explicitly treated, or are ignored in a variety of historical and contemporary settings with a particular emphasis on the impact that war and conflict have on laws and norms that in principle aim to protect individuals from violence and exploitation. This inquiry also entails consideration of the modern notion of the universality of human rights based on a conception of a common humanity and how alien that concept is in states and communities that define or embody hierarchies that systematically exclude groups or populations from the protections and respect that other groups and individuals are afforded. Nowhere do the devastating consequences of such exclusions become clearer than in times of crisis and conflict. The course draws upon a variety of case studies from the Greco-Roman world and other temporal and geographical contexts to explore the political and social dynamics that shape and inform the violence inherent in such events.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

ETHICSOC 130: Liberalism and its Critics (PHIL 171P, POLISCI 130)

In this course, students will learn and engage with the core debates that have animated political theory in modern times. What is the proper relationship between the individual, the community, and the state? Are liberty and equality in conflict, and, if so, which should take priority? What does justice mean in a large and diverse modern society? The title of the course, borrowed from a book by Michael Sandel, is 'Liberalism and its Critics' because the questions we discuss in this class center on the meaning of, and alternatives to, the liberal ideas that the basic goal of society should be the protection of individual rights and that some form of an egalitarian democracy is the best way to achieve this goal. The course is structured around two historical phenomena: one the one hand, liberal answers to these key questions have at times seemed politically and socially triumphant, but on the other hand, this ascendency has always been challenged and contested. At least one prior class in political theory, such as Justice (PS 103), Citizenship in the 21st Century (College 102), or Democratic Theory (PS 234) is recommended but not required.
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 130A: Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 181, CLASSICS 381, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)

Political philosophy in classical antiquity, centered on reading canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle against other texts and against the political and historical background. Topics include: interdependence, legitimacy, justice; political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 131S: Modern Political Thought: Machiavelli to Marx and Mill (POLISCI 131L)

This course is an introduction to the history of Western political thought from the late fifteenth century through the nineteenth century. We will consider the secularization of politics, the changing relationship between the individual and society, the rise of consent-based forms of political authority, and the development and critiques of liberal conceptions of property. We will cover the following thinkers: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Mill, and Marx.
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 131X: Ethics in Bioengineering (BIOE 131)

Bioengineering focuses on the development and application of new technologies in the biology and medicine. These technologies often have powerful effects on living systems at the microscopic and macroscopic level. They can provide great benefit to society, but they also can be used in dangerous or damaging ways. These effects may be positive or negative, and so it is critical that bioengineers understand the basic principles of ethics when thinking about how the technologies they develop can and should be applied. On a personal level, every bioengineer should understand the basic principles of ethical behavior in the professional setting. This course will involve substantial writing, and will use case-study methodology to introduce both societal and personal ethical principles, with a focus on practical applications
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 133: Ethics and Politics of Public Service (CSRE 178, PHIL 175A, PHIL 275A, POLISCI 133, PUBLPOL 103D, URBANST 122)

Public service is private action for the public good, work done by individuals and groups that aims at some vision of helping society or the world. This course examines some of the many ethical and political questions that arise in doing public service work, whether volunteering, service learning, humanitarian endeavors overseas, or public service professions such as medicine, teaching, or even "ethical investing" and "ethical entrepreneurship." What motives do people have to engage in public service work? Are self-interested motives troublesome? What is the connection between service work and justice? Should the government or schools require citizens or students to perform service work? Is mandatory service an oxymoron?
Last offered: Spring 2018 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 134: Ethics for Activists (POLISCI 134)

Activists devote sustained effort and attention toward achieving particular goals of social and political change. Do we have an ethical obligation to be activists? And how should those who do choose to be activists (for whatever reason) understand the ethics of that role? Questions discussed in this course may include: When is civil disobedience appropriate, and what does it entail? Should activists feel constrained by obligations of fairness, honesty, or civility toward those with whom we disagree? Are there special ethical considerations in activism on behalf of those who cannot advocate for themselves? What is solidarity and what does it require of us? Students in this course will develop skills in analyzing, evaluating, and constructing logical arguments about ethical concerns related to activism, but class discussions will also address the potential limitations of logical argument in ethical and political reasoning.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 134R: The Ethics of Elections (POLISCI 132A)

Do you have a duty to vote? Should immigrants be allowed to vote? Should we make voting mandatory? How (if at all) should we regulate campaign finance? Should we even have elections at all? In this course, we will explore these and other ethical questions related to electoral participation and the design of electoral institutions. We will evaluate arguments from political philosophers, political scientists, and politicians to better understand how electoral systems promote important democratic values and how this affects citizens' and political leaders' ethical obligations. We will focus, in particular, on issues in electoral design that have been relevant in recent US elections (e.g. gerrymandering), though many of the ethical issues we will discuss in this course will be relevant in any electoral democracy.
Last offered: Winter 2021 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 135: Citizenship (PHIL 135X, POLISCI 135)

This class begins from the core definition of citizenship as membership in a political community and explores the many debates about what that membership means. Who is (or ought to be) a citizen? Who gets to decide? What responsibilities come with citizenship? Is being a citizen analogous to being a friend, a family member, a business partner? How can citizenship be gained, and can it ever be lost? These debates figure in the earliest recorded political philosophy but also animate contemporary political debates. This class uses ancient, medieval, and modern texts to examine these questions and different answers given over time. We¿Äôll pay particular attention to understandings of democratic citizenship but look at non-democratic citizenship as well. Students will develop and defend their own views on these questions, using the class texts as foundations. No experience with political philosophy is required or expected, and students can expect to learn or hone the skills (writing / reading / analysis) of political philosophy.
Last offered: Spring 2021 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

ETHICSOC 135F: Deliberative Democracy and its Critics (AMSTUD 135, COMM 135W, COMM 235, COMM 335, POLISCI 234P, POLISCI 334P)

This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

ETHICSOC 136R: Introduction to Global Justice (INTNLREL 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336)

As we live in a globalized world, our lives are interconnected with many other people within and beyond the state borders. Currently, we face urgent problems of global justice, such as climate change, economic inequality, immigration, and health disparities, and how to address these issues is a crucial question for all of us. This course introduces students to normative inquiries into issues of global justice and offers an opportunity to integrate theories and practices by engaging with essential and timely questions. What normative demands does justice impose on individuals and institutions in a global world? Do people in affluent countries bear the responsibility for the suffering of those who live in other countries? Should relatively developed countries open their borders to those from developing countries? How should we allocate responsibilities for reducing global injustice, such as health disparities? How does injustice with historical roots, such as colonialism, further complicate the picture of normative demands? While there are no easy answers to these questions, throughout this course, students will be exposed to interdisciplinary approaches (including philosophy, political theory, gender studies, etc.), learn to critically analyze various theoretical approaches, and use them as frameworks to develop their views on issues of global justice. This class meets on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9:30-11AM. Please note that in addition to the listed lecture time, students must sign up for a 45-min discussion session. The schedule of the discussion session will be arranged and announced during the first week of the quarter.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lin, T. (PI); Cooper, E. (TA)

ETHICSOC 146: Political Thought in Modern Asia (CHINA 146, CHINA 246, POLISCI 235N, POLISCI 335N)

The study of political theory in the United States has been accused of being Western-centric: We tend to focus on intellectual traditions from Plato to NATO, while ignoring the vast world of non-Western societies and the ways they think about politics and public life. How do Chinese thinkers conceptualize human rights and good governance? How do Indian intellectuals reconcile democracy and inherited hierarchies in Hinduism? How do Islamic scholars view the relationship between religious authority and secular authority? Should we regard liberal democracy, or Western civilization more broadly, as representing the universal value guiding every society? Or, should we learn from non-Western ideas and values so as to solve problems plaguing Western societies? How can competing visions of good life coexist in a globalized and increasingly pluralistic world? This course aims to answer these questions by exploring three Asian traditions and their perspectives on politics: Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islam. We will focus on the modern period (19th-21st centuries) and the ways intellectuals in these societies respond to the challenge of modernity and Western superiority. Special attention is given to how these intellectuals conceive of the relationship between modernity and their respective traditions: Are they compatible or mutually exclusive? In which ways do intellectuals interpret these traditions so as to render them (in)compatible with modernity? We will read academic articles written by Anglophone scholars as well as original texts written by non-Western thinkers. No knowledge of non-Western languages is required.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 170: Ethical Theory (PHIL 170, PHIL 270)

(Taylor's version) In this iteration of the course we will discuss ethical dimensions of personal identity, integrity, friendship, sex, love, commitment, trust, care, childhood, death, and the afterlife. Substantial background in moral philosophy will be assumed (students should have completed Philosophy 2 or its equivalent; if you have questions, please contact the instructor).
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 171: Justice (PHIL 171, POLISCI 103, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C)

Justice, as we use the term in this class, is a question about social cooperation. People can produce much more cooperatively than the sum of what they could produce as individuals, and these gains from cooperation are what makes civilization possible. But on what terms should we cooperate? How should we divide, as the philosopher John Rawls puts it, "the benefits and burdens of social cooperation"? Working primarily within the Anglo-American philosophical tradition, we'll discuss different answers to this big question as a way to bring together some of the most prominent debates in modern political philosophy. We'll study theories including utilitarianism, libertarianism, classical liberalism, and egalitarian liberalism, and we'll take on complex current issues like reparations for racial injustice, the gender pay gap, and responses to climate change. This class is meant to be an accessible entry point to political philosophy. No experience with political science or philosophy is required or assumed, and we will spend time on the strategy of philosophy as well: understanding how our authors make their arguments to better respond to them and make our own.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 172: History of Modern Moral Philosophy (PHIL 172, PHIL 272)

A critical exploration of some main forms of systematic moral theorizing in Western philosophy from Hobbes onward and their roots in ancient, medieval, and earlier modern ethical thought. Prerequistes are some prior familiarity with utilitarianism and Kantian ethics and a demonstrated interest in philosophy. Grads enroll in 272.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Hills, D. (PI)

ETHICSOC 175B: Philosophy of Law (PHIL 175, PHIL 275)

This course will explore foundational issues about the nature of law and its relation to morality, and about legal responsibility and criminal punishment. Toward the end we will turn to issues about the criminal culpability of children. Prerequisite: Philosophy 80
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 176: Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition (PHIL 176, PHIL 276, POLISCI 137A, POLISCI 337A)

(Graduate students register for 276.) What makes political institutions legitimate? What makes them just? When do citizens have a right to revolt against those who rule over them? Which of our fellow citizens must we tolerate?Surprisingly, the answers given by some of the most prominent modern philosophers turn on the idea of a social contract. We will focus on the work of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Rawls.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Hills, D. (PI); Ray, W. (TA)

ETHICSOC 178M: Introduction to Environmental Ethics (EARTHSYS 178M, ETHICSOC 278M, PHIL 178M, PHIL 278M, POLISCI 134L)

How should human beings interact with the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? In this course, we will tackle ethical questions that confront us in our dealings with the natural world, looking at subjects such as: animal rights; conservation; economic approaches to the environment; access to and control over natural resources; environmental justice and pollution; climate change; technology and the environment; and environmental activism. We will frame our inquiry with leading ethical theories and divide our approach to these topics by ecosystem, dedicating time to each unique environment and its specific nuances: aquatic, desert/tundra, forest/grassland, and the increasingly recognized environment of Space.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 182: Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change (COMM 180, CS 182, PHIL 82, POLISCI 182, PUBLPOL 182)

Examination of recent developments in computing technology and platforms through the lenses of philosophy, public policy, social science, and engineering.  Course is organized around five main units: algorithmic decision-making and bias; data privacy and civil liberties; artificial intelligence and autonomous systems; the power of private computing platforms; and issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology sector.  Each unit considers the promise, perils, rights, and responsibilities at play in technological developments. Prerequisite: CS106A.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 182M: Markets, Ethics, and Society

Business activity has been an inalienable part of human life; as a result, there is always a pressing demand to address the ethical issues that arise in the business context and consider the ethical implications of their impact on people, society, and the world. This course introduces students to philosophical inquiry into ethical issues surrounding business and offers an opportunity to combine ethical theory and practice by engaging with essential and timely questions. Why is ethics important for business? Should corporations mainly be responsible for the interests of shareholders, or should they also take other factors into account? How should we understand the conflict of interests between employees and managers? What does the value of diversity imply in hiring and corporate culture? What marks the difference between ethical and unethical advertisements? What are some ethical concerns regarding emerging technologies and business models, such as attention economy, sharing economy, and artificial intelligence? Throughout this course, students will learn how philosophers have tried to address these questions and use them as frameworks to develop their views on the relationships between business, ethics, and society. This course meets the requirement for Ethical Reasoning (ER) and is open to students in all majors across the university. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 185M: Contemporary Moral Problems (PHIL 72, POLISCI 134P)

In this course, we will discuss the body as a site of moral and political conflict. Here are a few of the questions that will be explored: People are encouraged to become kidney donors, but we still don't have enough kidneys for everybody who needs one. Should you be allowed to sell a kidney? Suppose Robert is dying of a rare disease and the only thing that could save his life is a bone marrow transplant from his cousin David, but David doesn't want to donate. Should we force him to "donate"? Some people say a woman should be free to make abortion decisions on whatever grounds she wants, including prenatal genetic testing for conditions like Down syndrome; others condemn such selective abortion as an unacceptable form of eugenics. What genetic testing information, if any, should be allowed to influence a woman's decision about whether to terminate a pregnancy? In addition to these normative questions, we will also study related questions in constitutional law. When the Supreme Court decided that abortion was a constitutional right in Roe v. Wade, on what legal reasoning did they base their decision? When they decided to overturn Roe in the recent Dobbs v. Jackson, what legal reasoning did they use then? How will Dobbs affect other (current) constitutional rights?
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Mapps, M. (PI)

ETHICSOC 204: Introduction to Philosophy of Education (EDUC 204)

How to think philosophically about educational problems. Recent influential scholarship in philosophy of education. No previous study in philosophy required.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Cox, G. (PI)

ETHICSOC 232T: Philanthropy for Sustainable Development (POLISCI 236, POLISCI 236S, SUSTAIN 222)

This course teaches students how to pursue social change through philanthropy with a focus on sustainable development. Students learn about the approaches, history, and key debates in philanthropy, and apply their knowledge by collaboratively making a substantial class contribution to one or more select nonprofit organizations. This class responds to the reality confronting all philanthropists: There are many ways in which we can change the world for the better, but our money and time is finite. How then can we best use our limited resources to accomplish change? And how will we know we've been successful? By the end of the course, students will understand the fundamentals of effective philanthropy, including how to define problems, develop a theory of change, evaluate outcomes, and reduce unintended harm. Students of all levels of familiarity with philanthropy are welcome to join and no discipline is privileged in the class.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

ETHICSOC 234: Democratic Theory (PHIL 176P, POLISCI 234)

Most people agree that democracy is a good thing, but do we agree on what democracy is? This course will examine the concept of democracy in political philosophy. We will address the following questions: What reason(s), if any, do we have for valuing democracy? What does it mean to treat people as political equals? When does a group of individuals constitute "a people," and how can a people make genuinely collective decisions? Can democracy really be compatible with social inequality? With an entrenched constitution? With representation?
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Coyne, B. (PI)

FRENCH 13: Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Modern (HISTORY 239C, HUMCORE 13, PHIL 13)

What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? This course examines tcourse examines these questions in the modern period, from the rise of revolutionary ideas to the experiences of totalitarianism and decolonization in the twentieth century. Authors include Locke, Mary Shelley, Marx, Nietzsche, Primo Levi, and Frantz Fanon. This course is part of the Humanities Core, a collaborative set of global humanities seminars that brings all of its students and faculty into conversation. On Mondays you meet in your own course, and on Wednesdays all the HumCore seminars (in session that quarter) meet together: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

FRENCH 228: Science, Technology, and Society and the Humanities in the Face of Looming Disaster (ITALIAN 228, POLISCI 233F)

How STS and the Humanities can together help think out the looming catastrophes that put the future of humankind in jeopardy.
Last offered: Winter 2018 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

GENE 104Q: Law and the Biosciences

Preference to sophomores. Focus is on human genetics; also assisted reproduction and neuroscience. Topics include forensic use of DNA, genetic testing, genetic discrimination, eugenics, cloning, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, neuroscientific methods of lie detection, and genetic or neuroscience enhancement. Student presentations on research paper conclusions.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, Writing 2
Instructors: ; Greely, H. (PI)

GLOBAL 170: Where the Wild Things Are: The Ecology and Ethics of Conserving Megafauna (BIO 185, DLCL 170, EALC 170, EARTHSYS 170)

Under conditions of global environmental change and mass extinction, how will humanity share the planet with wildlife? This course invites undergraduate students to consider this question under the guidance of two biologists and a literary scholar. We will engage with a range of interdisciplinary scholarship on how humans seek to study, understand, exploit, protect, and empathize with charismatic megafauna. We ask how regional differences in culture, political economy, and ecology shape conservation efforts.
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA

HISTORY 31Q: Resistance and Collaboration in Hitler's Europe (JEWISHST 31Q)

What is resistance and what did it entail in Nazi-occupied Europe? What prompted some to resist, while others accommodated or actively collaborated with the occupiers? How have postwar societies remembered their resistance movements and collaborationists? This seminar examines how Europeans responded to the Nazi order during World War II. We will explore experiences under occupation; dilemmas the subject peoples faced; the range of resistance motivations, goals, activities, and strategies; and postwar memorialization. Select cases from Western, Eastern, and Mediterranean Europe.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Batinic, J. (PI)

HISTORY 39Q: Were They Really "Hard Times"? Mid-Victorian Social Movements and Charles Dickens (ENGLISH 39Q)

"It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it." So begins Charles Dickens description of Coketown in Hard Times. And it only seems to get more grim from there. But the world that Dickens sought to portray in the novel was a hopeful one, too. And that tension is our starting point. The intent of this class is to more closely examine mid-Victorian Britain in light of Dickens' novel, with particular focus on the rise of some of our modern social movements in the 19th century. While things like the labor movement, abolitionism, feminism, and environmentalism, are not the same now as they were then, this class will explore the argument that the 21st century is still, in some ways, working out 19th century problems and questions. At the same time, this is also a course that seeks to expand the kinds of sources we traditionally use as historians. Thus, while recognizing that literary sources are particularly complex, we will use Hard Times as a guide to our exploration to this fascinating era. We will seek both to better understand this complex, transitional time and to assess the accuracy of Dickens' depictions of socio-political life.Through a combination of short response papers, creative Victorian projects (such as sending a hand-written letter to a classmate), and a final paper/project, this course will give you the opportunity to learn more about the 19th century and the value of being historically minded.As a seminar based course, discussion amongst members of the class is vital. All students are welcome
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Wolfenstein, G. (PI)

HISTORY 58E: Stanford and Its Worlds: 1885-present (EDUC 147)

The past and future of Stanford University examined through the development of five critical "worlds," including the Western region of the United States, the US nation-state, the global academy, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the complex phenomena summarized by the name Silicon Valley. Students are asked to consider and theorize these worlds, their interrelationships, and the responsibilities they entail for all of us who live and work at Stanford in the present.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

HISTORY 67S: The Vietnam War/The American War

This course explores the conflict called "the Vietnam War" in the United States and "the American War" in Vietnam - one of the longest and most violent wars of the twentieth century - from the perspectives of those who experienced it. Engaging diverse primary sources from Vietnam, the U.S., and beyond, the course traces the conflict's global roots and consequences as well as challenges of interpreting war generally. Students have the option of a final paper or an oral history.
Last offered: Winter 2020 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

HISTORY 79C: The Ethical Challenges of the Climate Catastrophe (HISTORY 179C)

(History 79C is 3 units; History 179C is 5 units.) This course explores the ethical challenges of the climate catastrophe from historical, social, economic, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. These include the discovery of global warming over two centuries; the rise of secular and religious denialism toward the scientific consensus on it; the dispute between "developed" and "developing" countries over the timing and amount of national contributions per the 2015 Paris Accord; climate justice as it intersects with race, ethnicity, class, gender, and nationality; and the "role morality" of various actors (scientists, politicians, fossil fuel companies, the media and ordinary individuals) in assessing ethical responsibility for the catastrophe and how to mitigate, adapt, or even geoengineer, it.
Last offered: Spring 2021 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

HISTORY 83A: Enlightenment and Genocide: Modern Europe and the Ottoman Empire

(HISTORY 83A is 3 units; HISTORY 183A is 5 units.) In the early eighteenth century, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, introduced Ottoman smallpox inoculation to western medicine. But over the next two centuries, Ottoman scientific, cultural, and geopolitical strength disintegrated, while western Europeans colonized much of the globe and industrialized at home. How and why did this happen? This course explores this period of wrenching social change and transformation, and asks how the Enlightenment, with its calls for universal human rights and democracy, existed alongside crimes against humanity such as the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust. We inquire into ethical dilemmas from diverse perspectives to better understand the contested heritage of our modern world. Bringing western and non-western philosophy into conversation with history, we study the changing structures of Ottoman and European societies in the context of industrialization, repeated cycles from monarchy to democracy to dictatorship, and the growth of radical strains of Islam as a social protest and revolt against European dominance.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

HISTORY 151M: Between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, JR.: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Freedom (AFRICAAM 221, AMSTUD 141X, CSRE 141R, POLISCI 126, RELIGST 141)

Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both icons of the twentieth-century civil rights and black freedom movements. Often characterized as polar opposites - one advocating armed self-defense and the other non-violence against all provocation - they continue to be important religious, political, and intellectual models for how we imagine the past as well as for current issues concerning religion, race, politics and freedom struggles in the United States and globally. This course focuses on the political and spiritual lives of Martin and Malcolm. We will examine their personal biographies, speeches, writings, representations, FBI Files, and legacies as a way to better understand how the intersections of religion, race, and politics came to bare upon the freedom struggles of people of color in the US and abroad. The course also takes seriously the evolutions in both Martin and Malcolm's political approaches and intellectual development, focusing especially on the last years of their respective lives. We will also examine the critical literature that takes on the leadership styles and political philosophies of these communal leaders, as well as the very real opposition and surveillance they faced from state forces like the police and FBI. Students will gain an understanding of what social conditions, religious structures and institutions, and personal experiences led to first the emergence and then the assassinations of these two figures. We will discuss the subtleties of their political analyses, pinpointing the key differences and similarities of their philosophies, approaches, and legacies, and we will apply these debates of the mid- twentieth century to contemporary events and social movements in terms of how their legacies are articulated and what we can learn from them in struggles for justice and recognition in twenty-first century America and beyond.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

HISTORY 179C: The Ethical Challenges of the Climate Catastrophe (HISTORY 79C)

(History 79C is 3 units; History 179C is 5 units.) This course explores the ethical challenges of the climate catastrophe from historical, social, economic, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. These include the discovery of global warming over two centuries; the rise of secular and religious denialism toward the scientific consensus on it; the dispute between "developed" and "developing" countries over the timing and amount of national contributions per the 2015 Paris Accord; climate justice as it intersects with race, ethnicity, class, gender, and nationality; and the "role morality" of various actors (scientists, politicians, fossil fuel companies, the media and ordinary individuals) in assessing ethical responsibility for the catastrophe and how to mitigate, adapt, or even geoengineer, it.
Last offered: Spring 2021 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

HISTORY 183A: Enlightenment and Genocide: Modern Europe and the Ottoman Empire

(History 183A is 5 units; History 83A is 3 units.) In the early eighteenth century, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, introduced Ottoman smallpox inoculation to western medicine. But over the next two centuries, Ottoman scientific, cultural, and geopolitical strength disintegrated, while western Europeans colonized much of the globe and industrialized at home. How and why did this happen? This course explores this period of wrenching social change and transformation, and asks how the Enlightenment, with its calls for universal human rights and democracy, existed alongside crimes against humanity such as the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust. We inquire into ethical dilemmas from diverse perspectives to better understand the contested heritage of our modern world. Bringing western and non-western philosophy into conversation with history, we study the changing structures of Ottoman and European societies in the context of industrialization, repeated cycles from monarchy to democracy to dictatorship, and the growth of radical strains of Islam as a social protest and revolt against European dominance.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

HISTORY 200K: Doing Literary History: Orwell in the World (ENGLISH 224)

This course will bring together the disciplines of history and literary studies by looking closely at the work of one major twentieth-century author: the British writer and political polemicist George Orwell. In 1946, Orwell writes, "What I have most wanted to do throughout the past ten years is to make political writing into an art." In these years, Orwell writes about-- and often participates in or witnesses first-hand--a series of major events and crises. These include British imperialism in Burma, urban poverty in Europe, class inequality in England, the conflict between Socialism and Fascism in Spain, and the rise of totalitarianism in the Soviet Union. In engaging all of these events, Orwell experiments with different literary forms, moving between fiction and non-fiction, novel and autobiography, essay and memoir, manifesto and fable, literature and journalism. Few writers demand such sustained and equal attention to text and context: in this course we will move back-and-forth between Orwell's varied writing and the urgent social and political contexts it addresses.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

HISTORY 206D: Global Humanities: The Grand Millennium, 800-1800 (DLCL 52, HUMCORE 52, JAPAN 52)

How should we live? This course explores ethical pathways in European, Islamic, and East Asian traditions: mysticism and rationality, passion and duty, this and other worldly, ambition and peace of mind. They all seem to be pairs of opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow two or more of them at once. We will read works by successful thinkers, travelers, poets, lovers, and bureaucrats written between 800 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about what is a life well lived.
Last offered: Winter 2020 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

HISTORY 225G: Propaganda Century: 20th-Century Preoccupations with Mass Influence

The course explores the idea of propaganda as one of the central obsessions of 20th-century thought and politics. It traces the history of propaganda, from the early 20th century optimistic ideas about mass manipulation and political education to post-WWII anxieties around totalitarianism and capitalist public opinion manipulation. The course examines just how malleable or resistant various 20th-century belief systems considered societies to be. It also explores how they have thought of the ethics and desirability of mass persuasion and how they struggled with adjacent concepts such as the crowd, mass society, totalitarianism, false consciousness, manufactured consent, etc. It concludes by exploring the waning of propaganda discourse in the late-1980s. As an epilogue, we will discuss propaganda's modified resurgence a generation later in today's concerns over "new media," "viral misinformation," and "indoctrination." The course aims to help students historicize the concept of propaganda and contextualize it transnationally, bridging cultural, political, and theoretical divides.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

HISTORY 233F: Political Thought in Early Modern Britain (HISTORY 333F)

1500 to 1700. Theorists include Hobbes, Locke, Harrington, the Levellers, and lesser known writers and schools. Foundational ideas and problems underlying modern British and American political thought and life.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Como, D. (PI)

HISTORY 239C: Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Modern (FRENCH 13, HUMCORE 13, PHIL 13)

What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? This course examines tcourse examines these questions in the modern period, from the rise of revolutionary ideas to the experiences of totalitarianism and decolonization in the twentieth century. Authors include Locke, Mary Shelley, Marx, Nietzsche, Primo Levi, and Frantz Fanon. This course is part of the Humanities Core, a collaborative set of global humanities seminars that brings all of its students and faculty into conversation. On Mondays you meet in your own course, and on Wednesdays all the HumCore seminars (in session that quarter) meet together: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

HISTORY 246G: Participatory Research in African History

Historical research in Africa is liable to issues of authenticity and relevance to local communities, as well as power disparities between researcher and subject. Can we turn this weakness into a strength by developing theory and practice of participatory action research in which communities and scholars work together to make meaningful interpretations of the past? We will explore this issue, study previous attempts, and design a participatory action research project to be carried out in Ghana.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

HISTORY 269: Thinking About Capitalism (HISTORY 369)

What is capitalism? An economic and social system that maximizes both individual freedom and social good? An exploitative arrangement dependent on the subordination of labor to capital? A natural arrangement guided by a munificent invisible hand? Or a finely tuned mechanism requiring state support? This class offers undergraduate and graduate students a forum to consider these questions by reading selected works by historians, sociologists, economists, and other thinkers. Together we will work our way through primary sources from the twentieth century, using them to examine how capitalism has been understood, conceptualized, defended, and attacked. We will study the history of debates about markets, the state, and social organization, taking capitalism as both an economic system and a culture. Permission number required to enroll. Please contact Professor Burns at jenniferburns@stanford.edu to request permission to enroll in the course.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Burns, J. (PI)

HUMBIO 171E: Modern Ethical Challenges in Neuroscience and Organ Transplantation

Today we face unprecedented innovations in neuroscience and medicine. While these advances offer new hope, they also challenge medical, legal, and ethical paradigms. We will explore the ethical constructs surrounding topics including brain death, brain-computer interfaces and other adaptive technologies, and organ transplantation. The course material will include clinical and legal cases, scientific literature, film and popular culture, and experiential learning at Stanford Hospital. We will also focus on cultural comparisons between the US and Japan, where brain death is not widely accepted and deceased donor organ donation is rare. Course evaluation will be based on participation, written work, and team projects.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

HUMBIO 174: Foundations of Bioethics

Classic articles, legal cases, and foundational concepts. Theoretical approaches derived from philosophy. The ethics of medicine and research on human subjects, assisted reproductive technologies, genetics, cloning, and stem cell research. Ethical issues at the end of life. Enrollment limited to juniors and seniors.
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

HUMCORE 13: Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Modern (FRENCH 13, HISTORY 239C, PHIL 13)

What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? This course examines tcourse examines these questions in the modern period, from the rise of revolutionary ideas to the experiences of totalitarianism and decolonization in the twentieth century. Authors include Locke, Mary Shelley, Marx, Nietzsche, Primo Levi, and Frantz Fanon. This course is part of the Humanities Core, a collaborative set of global humanities seminars that brings all of its students and faculty into conversation. On Mondays you meet in your own course, and on Wednesdays all the HumCore seminars (in session that quarter) meet together: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

HUMCORE 20: Humanities Core: Dao, Virtue, and Nature -- Foundations of East Asian Thought (CHINA 20, JAPAN 20, KOREA 20)

This course explores the values and questions posed in the formative period of East Asian civilizations. Notions of a Dao ("Way") are common to Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, but those systems of thought have radically different ideas about what that Dao is and how it might be realized in society and an individual's life. These systems of thought appeared first in China, and eventually spread to Korea and Japan. Each culture developed its own ways of reconciling the competing systems, but in each case the comprehensive structure of values and human ideals differs significantly from those that appeared elsewhere in the ancient world. The course examines East Asian ideas about self-cultivation, harmonious society, rulership, and the relation between human and nature with a view toward expanding our understanding of these issues in human history, and highlighting their legacies in Asian civilizations today. The course features selective readings in classics of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist texts that present the foundational tenets of Asian thought. N. B. This is the first of three courses in the Humanities Core, East Asian track. These courses show how history and ideas shape our world and future. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to the life of the mind.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

HUMCORE 52: Global Humanities: The Grand Millennium, 800-1800 (DLCL 52, HISTORY 206D, JAPAN 52)

How should we live? This course explores ethical pathways in European, Islamic, and East Asian traditions: mysticism and rationality, passion and duty, this and other worldly, ambition and peace of mind. They all seem to be pairs of opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow two or more of them at once. We will read works by successful thinkers, travelers, poets, lovers, and bureaucrats written between 800 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about what is a life well lived.
Last offered: Winter 2020 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

HUMCORE 111: Texts that Changed the World from the Ancient Middle East (COMPLIT 31, JEWISHST 150, RELIGST 150)

This course traces the story of the cradle of human civilization. We will begin with the earliest human stories, the Gilgamesh Epic and biblical literature, and follow the path of the development of law, religion, philosophy and literature in the ancient Mediterranean or Middle Eastern world, to the emergence of Jewish and Christian thinking. We will pose questions about how this past continues to inform our present: What stories, myths, and ideas remain foundational to us? How did the stories and myths shape civilizations and form larger communities? How did the earliest stories conceive of human life and the divine? What are the ideas about the order of nature, and the place of human life within that order? How is the relationship between the individual and society constituted? This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

HUMRTS 101: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Human Rights Theory and Practice

This course will introduce students to the philosophical and historical foundations for the modern concept of human rights, as well as the international and domestic legal frameworks currently in force to protect and promote these rights. Students will learn about the broad landscape of institutions responsible for defining and enforcing human rights from scholars who study the institutions, and practitioners who have worked inside them. Throughout the quarter we will read and discuss critical scholarship about the gap between the promises and aspirations of international human rights covenants, and the ongoing realities of widespread oppression, exploitation, and atrocity happening around the world. We will welcome practitioners as well as guest faculty from departments across the university whose teaching and research touches on aspects of human rights within their respective fields of expertise. Throughout the course, we will explore how distinct perspectives, assumptions, and vocabulary of particular disciplinary communities affect the way scholars and practitioners trained in these fields approach, understand, and employ human rights concepts. HUMRTS 101 fulfills the gateway course requirement for the Minor in Human Rights, and is offered once per year, winter quarter. No prior knowledge or formal human rights education is required of students enrolling in this introductory course. Students of all years and majors are welcome to join. Students should enroll in Section 01 of the course for in-person instruction Tu/Th 3:00-4:50 pm. Enrollment in Section 02 is available only by special consent of the instructor, for students with special circumstances who need to complete HUMRTS 101 for the Minor, but cannot regularly attend the class in person as scheduled for Section 01. Students enrolled in Section 02 will complete identical curriculum, and will engage with classmates from Section 02 on a single Canvas site, but will have asynchronous and remote scheduling options for lectures. These same asynchronous and remote options can also be made available to Section 01 students (if/when needed, at discrete times throughout the quarter) in the event of COVID-related disruptions to class (e.g. instructor illness, student quarantine).
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Van Tuyl, P. (PI)

HUMRTS 106: Human Rights in Comparative and Historical Perspective (CLASSICS 116, CLASSICS 216, ETHICSOC 106)

The course examines core human rights concepts and issues as they arise in a variety of contexts ranging from the ancient world to today. These issues include slavery, human trafficking, gender based violence, discrimination against marginalized groups, and how these and other issues are linked to war, internal conflict, and imperialism. We will consider the ways in which such issues emerge, are explicitly treated, or are ignored in a variety of historical and contemporary settings with a particular emphasis on the impact that war and conflict have on laws and norms that in principle aim to protect individuals from violence and exploitation. This inquiry also entails consideration of the modern notion of the universality of human rights based on a conception of a common humanity and how alien that concept is in states and communities that define or embody hierarchies that systematically exclude groups or populations from the protections and respect that other groups and individuals are afforded. Nowhere do the devastating consequences of such exclusions become clearer than in times of crisis and conflict. The course draws upon a variety of case studies from the Greco-Roman world and other temporal and geographical contexts to explore the political and social dynamics that shape and inform the violence inherent in such events.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

HUMRTS 108: Advanced Spanish Service-Learning: Migration, Asylum, and Human Rights at the Border

NOTE: HUMRTS 108 will not be offered in Spring 23-24. For additional questions please contact Instructor. This community engaged learning workshop is exclusively available to students who are concurrently enroll in SPANLANG 108SL. Within the HUMRTS 108 program, students will have the unique opportunity to apply their advanced Spanish language skills and their understanding of the US immigration detention system, acquired in the class, by volunteering with an organization dedicated to immigrant rights. In this capacity, students will receive training to operate a hotline responsible for monitoring conditions in over 200 immigrant detention centers. They will engage directly with people in immigration detention to document instances of abuse, reveal dehumanizing conditions, and connect them with their loved ones. Human rights lawyer Penelope Van Tuyl will serve as a guest lecturer, providing students with legal context. Additionally, we will have the privilege of hosting migrants and refugees who will share their personal stories of being in US detention and seeking asylum, along with other experts in fields such as law, mental health, media, and art activism. To enroll, please ensure that you qualify to enroll in a third-year Spanish class and contact Instructor Vivian Brates at vbrates@stanford.edu to request a class code. Please be aware that this course requires a minimum of 3 units and must be taken for a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit. It is also certified as a Cardinal Course by the Haas Center for Public Service.
Terms: Aut | Units: 1-3 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Brates, V. (PI)

ILAC 211: Existentialism, from Moral Quest to Novelistic Form (COMPLIT 258A, ILAC 311)

This seminar intends to follow the development of Existentialism from its genesis to its literary expressions in the European postwar. The notions of defining commitment, of moral ambiguity, the project of the self, and the critique of humanism will be studied in selected texts by Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Unamuno, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Joan Sales.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

INTNLREL 62Q: Mass Atrocities: Reckoning and Reconciliation

Imagine you live in a country in which a delusional dictator imprisons untold masses in labor and concentration camps, and kills millions of them. Imagine you live in another country, in which one ethnic group slaughters the other. Imagine you live in yet another country in which a racial white minority terrorizes and violently discriminates against a huge majority of black population. Or, imagine you live in a country in which members of one group engage in an "ethnic cleansing" of their former neighbors.Now imagine this: Some big political change comes to each of these societies, and the perpetrators lose their power and are finally stopped from committing any more crimes and atrocities. Now comes the time to decide how to bring about justice for the past wrongs. It is also a question of how to come to terms with the terrible past. How to remember it? How to confront it? How to judge the perpetrators? How to identify them? How to punish them appropriately if at all? Also, is it possible to ever reconcile with the former oppressors and enemies? Maybe even to forgive them? If so, under what circumstances? What is necessary for such reconciliation? What if some of the victims were also perpetrators?The scenarios mentioned above are real ones¿they happened in Germany, Rwanda, South Africa, Bosnia, and elsewhere. In this IntroSem we will explore the social, political, and legal arrangements societies debated about, negotiated, and used to deal with the atrocities of the past. We will assess their utility in the process of ¿transitional justice.¿ We will scrutinize crimes tribunals and truth commissions, and inquire whether they enabled the victims to gain a sense of justice and fairness. Likewise, we will consider under what conditions those victims might ever be capable of a genuine reconciliation.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

INTNLREL 136R: Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336)

As we live in a globalized world, our lives are interconnected with many other people within and beyond the state borders. Currently, we face urgent problems of global justice, such as climate change, economic inequality, immigration, and health disparities, and how to address these issues is a crucial question for all of us. This course introduces students to normative inquiries into issues of global justice and offers an opportunity to integrate theories and practices by engaging with essential and timely questions. What normative demands does justice impose on individuals and institutions in a global world? Do people in affluent countries bear the responsibility for the suffering of those who live in other countries? Should relatively developed countries open their borders to those from developing countries? How should we allocate responsibilities for reducing global injustice, such as health disparities? How does injustice with historical roots, such as colonialism, further complicate the picture of normative demands? While there are no easy answers to these questions, throughout this course, students will be exposed to interdisciplinary approaches (including philosophy, political theory, gender studies, etc.), learn to critically analyze various theoretical approaches, and use them as frameworks to develop their views on issues of global justice. This class meets on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9:30-11AM. Please note that in addition to the listed lecture time, students must sign up for a 45-min discussion session. The schedule of the discussion session will be arranged and announced during the first week of the quarter.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lin, T. (PI); Cooper, E. (TA)

ITALIAN 228: Science, Technology, and Society and the Humanities in the Face of Looming Disaster (FRENCH 228, POLISCI 233F)

How STS and the Humanities can together help think out the looming catastrophes that put the future of humankind in jeopardy.
Last offered: Winter 2018 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

JAPAN 20: Humanities Core: Dao, Virtue, and Nature -- Foundations of East Asian Thought (CHINA 20, HUMCORE 20, KOREA 20)

This course explores the values and questions posed in the formative period of East Asian civilizations. Notions of a Dao ("Way") are common to Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, but those systems of thought have radically different ideas about what that Dao is and how it might be realized in society and an individual's life. These systems of thought appeared first in China, and eventually spread to Korea and Japan. Each culture developed its own ways of reconciling the competing systems, but in each case the comprehensive structure of values and human ideals differs significantly from those that appeared elsewhere in the ancient world. The course examines East Asian ideas about self-cultivation, harmonious society, rulership, and the relation between human and nature with a view toward expanding our understanding of these issues in human history, and highlighting their legacies in Asian civilizations today. The course features selective readings in classics of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist texts that present the foundational tenets of Asian thought. N. B. This is the first of three courses in the Humanities Core, East Asian track. These courses show how history and ideas shape our world and future. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to the life of the mind.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

JAPAN 52: Global Humanities: The Grand Millennium, 800-1800 (DLCL 52, HISTORY 206D, HUMCORE 52)

How should we live? This course explores ethical pathways in European, Islamic, and East Asian traditions: mysticism and rationality, passion and duty, this and other worldly, ambition and peace of mind. They all seem to be pairs of opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow two or more of them at once. We will read works by successful thinkers, travelers, poets, lovers, and bureaucrats written between 800 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about what is a life well lived.
Last offered: Winter 2020 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

JEWISHST 31Q: Resistance and Collaboration in Hitler's Europe (HISTORY 31Q)

What is resistance and what did it entail in Nazi-occupied Europe? What prompted some to resist, while others accommodated or actively collaborated with the occupiers? How have postwar societies remembered their resistance movements and collaborationists? This seminar examines how Europeans responded to the Nazi order during World War II. We will explore experiences under occupation; dilemmas the subject peoples faced; the range of resistance motivations, goals, activities, and strategies; and postwar memorialization. Select cases from Western, Eastern, and Mediterranean Europe.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Batinic, J. (PI)

JEWISHST 150: Texts that Changed the World from the Ancient Middle East (COMPLIT 31, HUMCORE 111, RELIGST 150)

This course traces the story of the cradle of human civilization. We will begin with the earliest human stories, the Gilgamesh Epic and biblical literature, and follow the path of the development of law, religion, philosophy and literature in the ancient Mediterranean or Middle Eastern world, to the emergence of Jewish and Christian thinking. We will pose questions about how this past continues to inform our present: What stories, myths, and ideas remain foundational to us? How did the stories and myths shape civilizations and form larger communities? How did the earliest stories conceive of human life and the divine? What are the ideas about the order of nature, and the place of human life within that order? How is the relationship between the individual and society constituted? This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

KOREA 20: Humanities Core: Dao, Virtue, and Nature -- Foundations of East Asian Thought (CHINA 20, HUMCORE 20, JAPAN 20)

This course explores the values and questions posed in the formative period of East Asian civilizations. Notions of a Dao ("Way") are common to Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, but those systems of thought have radically different ideas about what that Dao is and how it might be realized in society and an individual's life. These systems of thought appeared first in China, and eventually spread to Korea and Japan. Each culture developed its own ways of reconciling the competing systems, but in each case the comprehensive structure of values and human ideals differs significantly from those that appeared elsewhere in the ancient world. The course examines East Asian ideas about self-cultivation, harmonious society, rulership, and the relation between human and nature with a view toward expanding our understanding of these issues in human history, and highlighting their legacies in Asian civilizations today. The course features selective readings in classics of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist texts that present the foundational tenets of Asian thought. N. B. This is the first of three courses in the Humanities Core, East Asian track. These courses show how history and ideas shape our world and future. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to the life of the mind.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

KOREA 121: Doing the Right Thing: Ethical Dilemmas in Korean Film (KOREA 221)

Ethics and violence seem to be contradictory terms, yet much of Korean film and literature in the past five decades has demonstrated that they are an intricate and in many ways justifiable part of the fabric of contemporary existence. Film exposes time and again the complex ways in which the supposed vanguards of morality, religious institutions, family, schools, and the state are sites of condoned transgression, wherein spiritual and physical violation is inflicted relentlessly. This class will explore the ways in which questions about Truth and the origins of good and evil are mediated through film in the particular context of the political, social, and economic development of postwar South Korea. Tuesday classes will include a brief introduction followed by a film screening that will last on average for two hours; students that are unable to stay until 5 pm will be required to watch the rest of the film on their own.
| Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

LEAD 126A: Ethics and Leadership in Public Service (CSRE 126C, EDUC 126A, ETHICSOC 79, URBANST 126A)

This course explores ethical questions that arise in public service work, as well as leadership theory and skills relevant to public service work. Through readings, discussions, in-class activities, assignments, and guest lectures, students will develop a foundation and vision for a future of ethical and effective service leadership. This course serves as a gateway for interested students to participate in the Haas Center's Public Service Leadership Program.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lobo, K. (PI)

NBIO 101: Social and Ethical Issues in the Neurosciences (NBIO 201)

Foundational scientific issues and philosophical perspectives related to advances in the study of brain and behavior. Implications of new insights from the neurosciences for medical therapy, social policy, and broader conceptions of human nature including consciousness, free will, personal identity, and moral responsibility. Topics include ethical issues related to genetic screening and editing, desire and addiction, criminal behavior, the biology of sexuality, fetal pain, aging and neurodegenerative disease, brain-computer interfaces, and neural enhancement and the human future. May be taken for 2 units without a research paper. Undergraduates must enroll in NBIO101. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit. Application required: http://bit.ly/NBIOApplication
Terms: Spr | Units: 2-3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

OSPBER 33: The Politics of Memorializing World War II

This course will explore the politics of memorializing World War II specifically in the city of Berlin, as the city offers numerous examples of how the past is rendered present. Students will consider debates surrounding the Holocaust Memorial established once the Wall came down. They will engage the ethical conundrums of memorializing perpetrators along with victims, and the political issues of memorializing the resistance. Finally, memorializing mass murder and genocide also raises a number of aesthetic conundrums. All these issues will be engaged by visiting a variety of memorials in Berlin, along with an introduction to the relevant literature and documentation.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

OSPBER 67: Human Medical Research: Design and Ethics, a focus on Women's Health

Human treatment has evolved through experimentation. Ideas to influence nature's course to accelerate healing which were initially promulgated through anecdotal accounts are now rigorously tested in scientifically designed studies. In this seminar, we will explore the dual role of the investigator, to translate scientific questions into experiments and to consider the potential moral implications of the experiment. In weekly, two-session seminars, we will use published research studies to explore whether the theoretical constructs underlying the proposal are scientifically grounded and which ethical issues might be involved.
Terms: Win, Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SMA
Instructors: ; Casper, R. (PI)

OSPFLOR 46: Images of Evil in Criminal Justice

Iconographic component of criminal law; reasons and functions of the visual representation of criminal wrongdoing. Historical roots of "evil typecasting;" consideration of its variations with respect to common law and civil law systems. Fundamental features of the two legal systems. Sources, actors, enforcement mechanisms of the criminal law compared; study of cases in the area of murder, sex offences, organized crime and terrorism. Different techniques of image typecasting highlighted and discussed. International criminal law, which takes the burden to describe, typecast and punish forms of "enormous, disproportionate evil," such as genocide and other mass atrocities.
Last offered: Winter 2021 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER

OSPFLOR 70: The Value of Life: Philosophical Foundations

Analysis of the value of life from a philosophical point of view, presenting lay foundations of bioethics. Three main steps. 1) The notion of life, which can be seen from different angles and with diverse intentions; comparative analysis of plural interpretations of the notion of life, economic, scientific, religious, and the limits of the notion itself. 2) Ethics as a theory of value, the metaphysical background of life, and the structure of bioethics; a vision of life as a "critical choice", which implies respect for life and individual responsibility; some non-Western ideas on the value of life. 3) Practical issues such as the meaning of death, abortion and euthanasia
Last offered: Autumn 2021 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

OSPFLOR 106V: Policing, Punishment and Democracy: Beccaria and the Modern Politics of Crime

This course will ask how police, prosecutors, and prisons should operate in an open, democratic society, and what opportunities and challenges democracy creates for making those institutions fair, effective, and humane. Our entry point will be Cesare Beccaria's 1764 treatise, Of Crimes and Punishments, which linked criminal justice reform with the struggle against despotism. Beccaria was a key figure in the Italian Enlightenment, and his treatise laid the foundation for virtually all subsequent efforts at criminal justice reform, in the United States as well as in Europe. Beccaria's ideas heavily influenced the American Revolutionaries, found expression in the Bill of Rights, and continue to shape discussions of policing and punishment today. We will read Beccaria's treatise, as well as secondary materials placing him in historical context and tracing his influence on the reform of criminal justice institutions in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We will also examine a series of contemporary debates about policing, prosecution, and punishment, including calls for prison abolition and for defunding the police, and we will ask what light Beccaria's ideas can throw on those debates. We will consider, too, the criminal-justice dimensions of the recent rise of populism and nativism, both in the United States and in Europe, and the increasing overlap between debates about crime and debates about immigration. Studying Beccaria will provide a window into the Italian Enlightenment, and tracing his influence will help us place modern debates about mass incarceration, police violence, and prosecutorial discretion in historical perspective. We may take field trips to the sites of former prisons in Florence and to Milan, where Beccaria lived and worked.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

OSPMADRD 57: Health Care: A Contrastive Analysis between Spain and the U.S.

History of health care and evolution of the concept of universal health care based on need not wealth. Contrast with system in U.S. Is there a right to health care and if so, what does it encompass? The Spanish health care system; its major successes and shortcomings. Issues and challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective combining scientific facts with moral, political, and legal philosophy.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Perez Blanco, A. (PI)

OSPMADRD 72: Issues in Bioethics Across Cultures

Ethical dilemmas concerning the autonomy and dignity of human beings and other living creatures; principles of justice that rule different realms of private and public life. Interdisciplinary approach to assessing these challenges, combining scientific facts, health care issues, and moral philosophy. Sources include landmark bioethics papers. Prerequisite: completion of SPANLANG 11, 21B or placement, or instructor approval.
Last offered: Winter 2020 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

OSPOXFRD 29: Artificial Intelligence and Society

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform society in a way that has not been seen before. AI can bring many positive benefits, such as allowing ideas to more flexibly cross language barriers, improve medical outcomes, and enhance the safety and efficiency of our transportation systems. However, as with the introduction with other technologies, there is the potential of negative consequences, such as job insecurity and the introduction of vulnerabilities that come with greater levels of automation. We will delve deeply into the core issues at stake that comes with the greater integration of AI into society. The course will be composed of discussion and guest lectures from industry leaders and academics associated with Oxford. Assignments include readings, class presentations, individual research projects, and essays. Field trips will include visits to London and Edinburgh.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

OSPOXFRD 85: Practical Ethics for Artificial Intelligence

AI has attracted significant attention in the last year, initially due to the release of ChatGPT, followed by backlash and efforts at creating effective regulation. Questions of ethics underlie every aspect of AI, beginning with the question of whether it is even coherent to speak of an intelligence other than humans. This course presents current ethical issues in the development and application of artificial intelligence through a series of recent case studies. We will spend the first part of the course studying major ethical frameworks (consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics) and closely-linked research areas within AI and machine learning. In the second part of the course, we will apply these principles to case studies from major areas of debate in AI, with a focus on the translation of ethical principles into practical decisions.The first examples from AI we will cover are existential risks in the context of utilitarianism, the "hidden" labour force of AI in the context of deontology, and the problem of replacing humans in the context of virtue ethics. For the case studies, we will first study fairness and bias in the training and deployment of machine learning models. We will ask what it means for an AI system to be "fair", and how to regulate models which are not interpretable. This is followed by the problems of copyright and large scale training datasets for generative AI models, where we will ask what constitutes unfair use of existing material when it is only being used to train. We continue in a more hypothetical lens with a discussion of whether or not an AI system could be a moral agent or patient, and what rights a non-human intelligence might have. Finally, we conclude with the alignment problem, where we focus on the practical challenges of value alignment and the plausibility of finding a set of values which could be universally accepted. In the last week of the course, students apply their learnings with group presentations on published academic research, unpacking the ethical questions underlying technical developments
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

OSPPARIS 22: Exploring Sustainability: Ecological, Economics and Environmental Humanities

Sustainability, which in broad terms aims at advancing human well-being within planetary boundaries, is a vital necessity in the 21st century but also a 'wicked problem' that demands to be studied from different angles. This innovative class offers two perspectives on sustainability: first, it pairs ecological economics with environmental humanities to allow for an interdisciplinary approach of sustainability's challenges; second, it offers a practical perspective on sustainability focused on the city of Paris to apply analytical insights on the ground and convert theory into sustainable practices. The course aims at equipping students with sustainability analytical toolbox from an ecological economics and environmental humanities perspectives: students will learn the fundamental of sustainability economics as well as put them in perspective with the help of philosophy, literature and art. Students will also learn, within the 'Paris sustainability lab' how to apply sustainability tools on the ground by engaging in a practical sustainability challenge facing Paris; energy, water supply, climate risks, social and environmental inequality, the Seine flooding, etc. Each of the 10 two hours and a half session will be organized as follows: 1 hour lecture on ecological economics; 30 minutes counterpoint on environmental humanities; 15 minutes break and 45 minutes of 'Paris sustainability lab' with a student presentation and collective Forum on sustainability challenges facing the city of Paris.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

PHIL 2: Introduction to Moral Philosophy (ETHICSOC 20)

What should I do with my life? What kind of person should I be? How should we treat others? What makes actions right or wrong? What is good and what is bad? What should we value? How should we organize society? Is there any reason to be moral? Is morality relative or subjective? How, if at all, can such questions be answered? Intensive introduction to theories and techniques in contemporary moral philosophy.
Terms: Aut | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 8N: Free Will and Responsibility

In what sense are we, or might we be free agents? Is our freedom compatible with our being fully a part of the same natural, causal order that includes other physical and biological systems? What assumptions about freedom do we make when we hold people accountable morally and/or legally? When we hold people accountable, and so responsible, can we also see them as part of the natural, causal order? Or is there a deep incompatibility between these two ways of understanding ourselves? What assumptions about our freedom do we make when we deliberate about what to do? Are these assumptions in conflict with seeing ourselves as part of the natural, causal order?We will explore these and related questions primarily by way of careful study of recent and contemporary philosophical research on these matters.
Last offered: Spring 2023 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 13: Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, Modern (FRENCH 13, HISTORY 239C, HUMCORE 13)

What is a good life? How should society be organized? Who belongs? How should honor, love, sin, and similar abstractions govern our actions? What duty do we owe to the past and future? This course examines tcourse examines these questions in the modern period, from the rise of revolutionary ideas to the experiences of totalitarianism and decolonization in the twentieth century. Authors include Locke, Mary Shelley, Marx, Nietzsche, Primo Levi, and Frantz Fanon. This course is part of the Humanities Core, a collaborative set of global humanities seminars that brings all of its students and faculty into conversation. On Mondays you meet in your own course, and on Wednesdays all the HumCore seminars (in session that quarter) meet together: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 13N: Justice across Borders

Most people are not your fellow citizens. (Over 95% of human beings, for example, are not Americans.) What do you owe to them as a matter of justice? What do they owe to you? Should you save a foreigner's life instead of buying luxuries for yourself? Should you boycott 'fast fashion' produced by exploited workers abroad? Should universities divest from fossil fuels? How can a country like the United States justify forcefully preventing anyone from crossing its borders? Is anything absolutely prohibited to win a war? When examining such issues, we need to start with facts¿facts about poverty, inequality, climate change, immigration, etc. After surveying the basic facts, we will use philosophical readings to focus and deepen our discussions of what justice requires across borders. Some of the topics we discuss will be chosen on the basis of students' interests.
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Wenar, L. (PI)

PHIL 24S: Free Will & Moral Responsibility

Do we have free will? Are we morally responsible for our conduct? In this course we will explore debates from roughly the past 50 years between philosophers who defend the common sense view that we do have free will and are sometimes morally responsible for our conduct and philosophers who argue that we do not have free will or are not morally responsible for our behavior. In turn, we will explore practical applications of these debates, such as reasons to change (or not) our social practices and ways of relating to one another, such as the kinds of angry blame that are commonplace in ordinary relationships, and the role of incarceration and punishment in our legal system.
Last offered: Summer 2023 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PHIL 25Q: Digital Privacy and Ethics

Introductory Seminar. Preference to sophomores; first-year students admitted if space available. Advance sign-up process and deadlines at http://introsems.stanford.edu
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PHIL 72: Contemporary Moral Problems (ETHICSOC 185M, POLISCI 134P)

In this course, we will discuss the body as a site of moral and political conflict. Here are a few of the questions that will be explored: People are encouraged to become kidney donors, but we still don't have enough kidneys for everybody who needs one. Should you be allowed to sell a kidney? Suppose Robert is dying of a rare disease and the only thing that could save his life is a bone marrow transplant from his cousin David, but David doesn't want to donate. Should we force him to "donate"? Some people say a woman should be free to make abortion decisions on whatever grounds she wants, including prenatal genetic testing for conditions like Down syndrome; others condemn such selective abortion as an unacceptable form of eugenics. What genetic testing information, if any, should be allowed to influence a woman's decision about whether to terminate a pregnancy? In addition to these normative questions, we will also study related questions in constitutional law. When the Supreme Court decided that abortion was a constitutional right in Roe v. Wade, on what legal reasoning did they base their decision? When they decided to overturn Roe in the recent Dobbs v. Jackson, what legal reasoning did they use then? How will Dobbs affect other (current) constitutional rights?
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Mapps, M. (PI)

PHIL 76: Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, INTNLREL 136R, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336)

As we live in a globalized world, our lives are interconnected with many other people within and beyond the state borders. Currently, we face urgent problems of global justice, such as climate change, economic inequality, immigration, and health disparities, and how to address these issues is a crucial question for all of us. This course introduces students to normative inquiries into issues of global justice and offers an opportunity to integrate theories and practices by engaging with essential and timely questions. What normative demands does justice impose on individuals and institutions in a global world? Do people in affluent countries bear the responsibility for the suffering of those who live in other countries? Should relatively developed countries open their borders to those from developing countries? How should we allocate responsibilities for reducing global injustice, such as health disparities? How does injustice with historical roots, such as colonialism, further complicate the picture of normative demands? While there are no easy answers to these questions, throughout this course, students will be exposed to interdisciplinary approaches (including philosophy, political theory, gender studies, etc.), learn to critically analyze various theoretical approaches, and use them as frameworks to develop their views on issues of global justice. This class meets on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9:30-11AM. Please note that in addition to the listed lecture time, students must sign up for a 45-min discussion session. The schedule of the discussion session will be arranged and announced during the first week of the quarter.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lin, T. (PI); Cooper, E. (TA)

PHIL 82: Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change (COMM 180, CS 182, ETHICSOC 182, POLISCI 182, PUBLPOL 182)

Examination of recent developments in computing technology and platforms through the lenses of philosophy, public policy, social science, and engineering.  Course is organized around five main units: algorithmic decision-making and bias; data privacy and civil liberties; artificial intelligence and autonomous systems; the power of private computing platforms; and issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology sector.  Each unit considers the promise, perils, rights, and responsibilities at play in technological developments. Prerequisite: CS106A.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PHIL 127: Kant's Foundations of Morality, 2nd Critique (PHIL 227)

(Graduate students enroll in 227.) A study of Kant's ethical thought, focusing on The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, The Critique of Practical Reason, and The Metaphysics of Morals. Prerequisite: having taken or taking during the same quarter Kant's First Critique (Phil 125/225). Designed for undergraduate department majors and graduate students.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PHIL 135: Existentialism

Focus is on the existentialist preoccupation with human freedom. What constitutes authentic individuality? What is one's relation to the divine? How can one live a meaningful life? What is the significance of death? A rethinking of the traditional problem of freedom and determinism in readings from Rousseau, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, and the extension of these ideas by Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus, including their social and political consequences in light of 20th-century fascism and feminism.
Last offered: Spring 2014 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-ER

PHIL 135X: Citizenship (ETHICSOC 135, POLISCI 135)

This class begins from the core definition of citizenship as membership in a political community and explores the many debates about what that membership means. Who is (or ought to be) a citizen? Who gets to decide? What responsibilities come with citizenship? Is being a citizen analogous to being a friend, a family member, a business partner? How can citizenship be gained, and can it ever be lost? These debates figure in the earliest recorded political philosophy but also animate contemporary political debates. This class uses ancient, medieval, and modern texts to examine these questions and different answers given over time. We¿Äôll pay particular attention to understandings of democratic citizenship but look at non-democratic citizenship as well. Students will develop and defend their own views on these questions, using the class texts as foundations. No experience with political philosophy is required or expected, and students can expect to learn or hone the skills (writing / reading / analysis) of political philosophy.
Last offered: Summer 2021 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

PHIL 170: Ethical Theory (ETHICSOC 170, PHIL 270)

(Taylor's version) In this iteration of the course we will discuss ethical dimensions of personal identity, integrity, friendship, sex, love, commitment, trust, care, childhood, death, and the afterlife. Substantial background in moral philosophy will be assumed (students should have completed Philosophy 2 or its equivalent; if you have questions, please contact the instructor).
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 171: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, POLISCI 103, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C)

Justice, as we use the term in this class, is a question about social cooperation. People can produce much more cooperatively than the sum of what they could produce as individuals, and these gains from cooperation are what makes civilization possible. But on what terms should we cooperate? How should we divide, as the philosopher John Rawls puts it, "the benefits and burdens of social cooperation"? Working primarily within the Anglo-American philosophical tradition, we'll discuss different answers to this big question as a way to bring together some of the most prominent debates in modern political philosophy. We'll study theories including utilitarianism, libertarianism, classical liberalism, and egalitarian liberalism, and we'll take on complex current issues like reparations for racial injustice, the gender pay gap, and responses to climate change. This class is meant to be an accessible entry point to political philosophy. No experience with political science or philosophy is required or assumed, and we will spend time on the strategy of philosophy as well: understanding how our authors make their arguments to better respond to them and make our own.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PHIL 171P: Liberalism and its Critics (ETHICSOC 130, POLISCI 130)

In this course, students will learn and engage with the core debates that have animated political theory in modern times. What is the proper relationship between the individual, the community, and the state? Are liberty and equality in conflict, and, if so, which should take priority? What does justice mean in a large and diverse modern society? The title of the course, borrowed from a book by Michael Sandel, is 'Liberalism and its Critics' because the questions we discuss in this class center on the meaning of, and alternatives to, the liberal ideas that the basic goal of society should be the protection of individual rights and that some form of an egalitarian democracy is the best way to achieve this goal. The course is structured around two historical phenomena: one the one hand, liberal answers to these key questions have at times seemed politically and socially triumphant, but on the other hand, this ascendency has always been challenged and contested. At least one prior class in political theory, such as Justice (PS 103), Citizenship in the 21st Century (College 102), or Democratic Theory (PS 234) is recommended but not required.
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PHIL 172: History of Modern Moral Philosophy (ETHICSOC 172, PHIL 272)

A critical exploration of some main forms of systematic moral theorizing in Western philosophy from Hobbes onward and their roots in ancient, medieval, and earlier modern ethical thought. Prerequistes are some prior familiarity with utilitarianism and Kantian ethics and a demonstrated interest in philosophy. Grads enroll in 272.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Hills, D. (PI)

PHIL 175: Philosophy of Law (ETHICSOC 175B, PHIL 275)

This course will explore foundational issues about the nature of law and its relation to morality, and about legal responsibility and criminal punishment. Toward the end we will turn to issues about the criminal culpability of children. Prerequisite: Philosophy 80
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 175A: Ethics and Politics of Public Service (CSRE 178, ETHICSOC 133, PHIL 275A, POLISCI 133, PUBLPOL 103D, URBANST 122)

Public service is private action for the public good, work done by individuals and groups that aims at some vision of helping society or the world. This course examines some of the many ethical and political questions that arise in doing public service work, whether volunteering, service learning, humanitarian endeavors overseas, or public service professions such as medicine, teaching, or even "ethical investing" and "ethical entrepreneurship." What motives do people have to engage in public service work? Are self-interested motives troublesome? What is the connection between service work and justice? Should the government or schools require citizens or students to perform service work? Is mandatory service an oxymoron?
Last offered: Spring 2018 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER

PHIL 176: Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition (ETHICSOC 176, PHIL 276, POLISCI 137A, POLISCI 337A)

(Graduate students register for 276.) What makes political institutions legitimate? What makes them just? When do citizens have a right to revolt against those who rule over them? Which of our fellow citizens must we tolerate?Surprisingly, the answers given by some of the most prominent modern philosophers turn on the idea of a social contract. We will focus on the work of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Rawls.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Hills, D. (PI); Ray, W. (TA)

PHIL 176A: Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 181, CLASSICS 381, ETHICSOC 130A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)

Political philosophy in classical antiquity, centered on reading canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle against other texts and against the political and historical background. Topics include: interdependence, legitimacy, justice; political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 176J: Democracy Ancient and Modern: From Politics to Political Theory (CLASSICS 149, CLASSICS 249, PHIL 276J, POLISCI 231A, POLISCI 331A)

Modern political theorists, from Hobbes and Rousseau, to Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, to Sheldon Wolin and Robert Dahl, have turned to the classical Greek theory and practice of politics, both for inspiration and as a critical target. The last 30 years has seen renewed interest in Athenian democracy among both historians and theorists, and closer interaction between empiricists concerned with 'what really happened, and why' and theorists concerned with the possibilities and limits of citizen self-government as a normatively favored approach to political organization. The course examines the current state of scholarship on the practice of politics in ancient city-states, including but not limited to democratic Athens; the relationship between practice and theory in antiquity (Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and others); the uses to which ancient theory and practice have been and are being put by modern political theorists; and experiments in democratic practice (citizen assemblies, deliberative councils, lotteries) inspired by ancient precedents. Suggested Prerequisites: Origins of Political Thought OR The Greeks OR other coursework on ancient political theory or practice. (For undergraduate students: suggest but do not require that you have taken either Origins of Political Thought, or The Greeks, or some other course that gives you some introduction to Greek political history or thought. )
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Ober, J. (PI)

PHIL 176P: Democratic Theory (ETHICSOC 234, POLISCI 234)

Most people agree that democracy is a good thing, but do we agree on what democracy is? This course will examine the concept of democracy in political philosophy. We will address the following questions: What reason(s), if any, do we have for valuing democracy? What does it mean to treat people as political equals? When does a group of individuals constitute "a people," and how can a people make genuinely collective decisions? Can democracy really be compatible with social inequality? With an entrenched constitution? With representation?
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Coyne, B. (PI)

PHIL 178M: Introduction to Environmental Ethics (EARTHSYS 178M, ETHICSOC 178M, ETHICSOC 278M, PHIL 278M, POLISCI 134L)

How should human beings interact with the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? In this course, we will tackle ethical questions that confront us in our dealings with the natural world, looking at subjects such as: animal rights; conservation; economic approaches to the environment; access to and control over natural resources; environmental justice and pollution; climate change; technology and the environment; and environmental activism. We will frame our inquiry with leading ethical theories and divide our approach to these topics by ecosystem, dedicating time to each unique environment and its specific nuances: aquatic, desert/tundra, forest/grassland, and the increasingly recognized environment of Space.
Terms: Win | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PHIL 182H: Truth (PHIL 282H)

Philosophical debates about the place in human lives and the value to human beings of truth and its pursuit. The nature and significance of truth-involving virtues such as accuracy, sincerity, and candor. Prerequisite Phil 80 or permission of the instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2020 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 194W: Capstone Seminar: Imagination in Fiction and Philosophy

This course spans the disciplinary divide between philosophy and literature by examining a mental faculty they both use: the imagination. The importance of the imagination in philosophy is contested: can it really help us understand what is possible and what's not, and if so, how? The role of the imagination in literature is undeniable, but often surprising in its details: why do we have real emotions in response to fictional stories? why do we seek out the negative emotions associated with tragedy and horror stories? Through guided discussion, live debate, close reading (of both philosophy and literature), and extensive writing, we will gain some insight into the fundamental faculty of thought that is the imagination. This is a capstone seminar for undergraduate majors in philosophy. Prerequisites: three courses in philosophy, including Philosophy 80.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

POLISCI 103: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, PHIL 171, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C)

Justice, as we use the term in this class, is a question about social cooperation. People can produce much more cooperatively than the sum of what they could produce as individuals, and these gains from cooperation are what makes civilization possible. But on what terms should we cooperate? How should we divide, as the philosopher John Rawls puts it, "the benefits and burdens of social cooperation"? Working primarily within the Anglo-American philosophical tradition, we'll discuss different answers to this big question as a way to bring together some of the most prominent debates in modern political philosophy. We'll study theories including utilitarianism, libertarianism, classical liberalism, and egalitarian liberalism, and we'll take on complex current issues like reparations for racial injustice, the gender pay gap, and responses to climate change. This class is meant to be an accessible entry point to political philosophy. No experience with political science or philosophy is required or assumed, and we will spend time on the strategy of philosophy as well: understanding how our authors make their arguments to better respond to them and make our own.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

POLISCI 126: Between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, JR.: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Freedom (AFRICAAM 221, AMSTUD 141X, CSRE 141R, HISTORY 151M, RELIGST 141)

Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both icons of the twentieth-century civil rights and black freedom movements. Often characterized as polar opposites - one advocating armed self-defense and the other non-violence against all provocation - they continue to be important religious, political, and intellectual models for how we imagine the past as well as for current issues concerning religion, race, politics and freedom struggles in the United States and globally. This course focuses on the political and spiritual lives of Martin and Malcolm. We will examine their personal biographies, speeches, writings, representations, FBI Files, and legacies as a way to better understand how the intersections of religion, race, and politics came to bare upon the freedom struggles of people of color in the US and abroad. The course also takes seriously the evolutions in both Martin and Malcolm's political approaches and intellectual development, focusing especially on the last years of their respective lives. We will also examine the critical literature that takes on the leadership styles and political philosophies of these communal leaders, as well as the very real opposition and surveillance they faced from state forces like the police and FBI. Students will gain an understanding of what social conditions, religious structures and institutions, and personal experiences led to first the emergence and then the assassinations of these two figures. We will discuss the subtleties of their political analyses, pinpointing the key differences and similarities of their philosophies, approaches, and legacies, and we will apply these debates of the mid- twentieth century to contemporary events and social movements in terms of how their legacies are articulated and what we can learn from them in struggles for justice and recognition in twenty-first century America and beyond.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

POLISCI 130: Liberalism and its Critics (ETHICSOC 130, PHIL 171P)

In this course, students will learn and engage with the core debates that have animated political theory in modern times. What is the proper relationship between the individual, the community, and the state? Are liberty and equality in conflict, and, if so, which should take priority? What does justice mean in a large and diverse modern society? The title of the course, borrowed from a book by Michael Sandel, is 'Liberalism and its Critics' because the questions we discuss in this class center on the meaning of, and alternatives to, the liberal ideas that the basic goal of society should be the protection of individual rights and that some form of an egalitarian democracy is the best way to achieve this goal. The course is structured around two historical phenomena: one the one hand, liberal answers to these key questions have at times seemed politically and socially triumphant, but on the other hand, this ascendency has always been challenged and contested. At least one prior class in political theory, such as Justice (PS 103), Citizenship in the 21st Century (College 102), or Democratic Theory (PS 234) is recommended but not required.
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 131L: Modern Political Thought: Machiavelli to Marx and Mill (ETHICSOC 131S)

This course is an introduction to the history of Western political thought from the late fifteenth century through the nineteenth century. We will consider the secularization of politics, the changing relationship between the individual and society, the rise of consent-based forms of political authority, and the development and critiques of liberal conceptions of property. We will cover the following thinkers: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Mill, and Marx.
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

POLISCI 132A: The Ethics of Elections (ETHICSOC 134R)

Do you have a duty to vote? Should immigrants be allowed to vote? Should we make voting mandatory? How (if at all) should we regulate campaign finance? Should we even have elections at all? In this course, we will explore these and other ethical questions related to electoral participation and the design of electoral institutions. We will evaluate arguments from political philosophers, political scientists, and politicians to better understand how electoral systems promote important democratic values and how this affects citizens' and political leaders' ethical obligations. We will focus, in particular, on issues in electoral design that have been relevant in recent US elections (e.g. gerrymandering), though many of the ethical issues we will discuss in this course will be relevant in any electoral democracy.
Last offered: Winter 2021 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 133: Ethics and Politics of Public Service (CSRE 178, ETHICSOC 133, PHIL 175A, PHIL 275A, PUBLPOL 103D, URBANST 122)

Public service is private action for the public good, work done by individuals and groups that aims at some vision of helping society or the world. This course examines some of the many ethical and political questions that arise in doing public service work, whether volunteering, service learning, humanitarian endeavors overseas, or public service professions such as medicine, teaching, or even "ethical investing" and "ethical entrepreneurship." What motives do people have to engage in public service work? Are self-interested motives troublesome? What is the connection between service work and justice? Should the government or schools require citizens or students to perform service work? Is mandatory service an oxymoron?
Terms: Sum | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Coyne, B. (PI)

POLISCI 134: Ethics for Activists (ETHICSOC 134)

Activists devote sustained effort and attention toward achieving particular goals of social and political change. Do we have an ethical obligation to be activists? And how should those who do choose to be activists (for whatever reason) understand the ethics of that role? Questions discussed in this course may include: When is civil disobedience appropriate, and what does it entail? Should activists feel constrained by obligations of fairness, honesty, or civility toward those with whom we disagree? Are there special ethical considerations in activism on behalf of those who cannot advocate for themselves? What is solidarity and what does it require of us? Students in this course will develop skills in analyzing, evaluating, and constructing logical arguments about ethical concerns related to activism, but class discussions will also address the potential limitations of logical argument in ethical and political reasoning.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 134L: Introduction to Environmental Ethics (EARTHSYS 178M, ETHICSOC 178M, ETHICSOC 278M, PHIL 178M, PHIL 278M)

How should human beings interact with the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? In this course, we will tackle ethical questions that confront us in our dealings with the natural world, looking at subjects such as: animal rights; conservation; economic approaches to the environment; access to and control over natural resources; environmental justice and pollution; climate change; technology and the environment; and environmental activism. We will frame our inquiry with leading ethical theories and divide our approach to these topics by ecosystem, dedicating time to each unique environment and its specific nuances: aquatic, desert/tundra, forest/grassland, and the increasingly recognized environment of Space.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

POLISCI 134P: Contemporary Moral Problems (ETHICSOC 185M, PHIL 72)

In this course, we will discuss the body as a site of moral and political conflict. Here are a few of the questions that will be explored: People are encouraged to become kidney donors, but we still don't have enough kidneys for everybody who needs one. Should you be allowed to sell a kidney? Suppose Robert is dying of a rare disease and the only thing that could save his life is a bone marrow transplant from his cousin David, but David doesn't want to donate. Should we force him to "donate"? Some people say a woman should be free to make abortion decisions on whatever grounds she wants, including prenatal genetic testing for conditions like Down syndrome; others condemn such selective abortion as an unacceptable form of eugenics. What genetic testing information, if any, should be allowed to influence a woman's decision about whether to terminate a pregnancy? In addition to these normative questions, we will also study related questions in constitutional law. When the Supreme Court decided that abortion was a constitutional right in Roe v. Wade, on what legal reasoning did they base their decision? When they decided to overturn Roe in the recent Dobbs v. Jackson, what legal reasoning did they use then? How will Dobbs affect other (current) constitutional rights?
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Mapps, M. (PI)

POLISCI 135: Citizenship (ETHICSOC 135, PHIL 135X)

This class begins from the core definition of citizenship as membership in a political community and explores the many debates about what that membership means. Who is (or ought to be) a citizen? Who gets to decide? What responsibilities come with citizenship? Is being a citizen analogous to being a friend, a family member, a business partner? How can citizenship be gained, and can it ever be lost? These debates figure in the earliest recorded political philosophy but also animate contemporary political debates. This class uses ancient, medieval, and modern texts to examine these questions and different answers given over time. We¿Äôll pay particular attention to understandings of democratic citizenship but look at non-democratic citizenship as well. Students will develop and defend their own views on these questions, using the class texts as foundations. No experience with political philosophy is required or expected, and students can expect to learn or hone the skills (writing / reading / analysis) of political philosophy.
Last offered: Summer 2021 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

POLISCI 136R: Introduction to Global Justice (ETHICSOC 136R, INTNLREL 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 336)

As we live in a globalized world, our lives are interconnected with many other people within and beyond the state borders. Currently, we face urgent problems of global justice, such as climate change, economic inequality, immigration, and health disparities, and how to address these issues is a crucial question for all of us. This course introduces students to normative inquiries into issues of global justice and offers an opportunity to integrate theories and practices by engaging with essential and timely questions. What normative demands does justice impose on individuals and institutions in a global world? Do people in affluent countries bear the responsibility for the suffering of those who live in other countries? Should relatively developed countries open their borders to those from developing countries? How should we allocate responsibilities for reducing global injustice, such as health disparities? How does injustice with historical roots, such as colonialism, further complicate the picture of normative demands? While there are no easy answers to these questions, throughout this course, students will be exposed to interdisciplinary approaches (including philosophy, political theory, gender studies, etc.), learn to critically analyze various theoretical approaches, and use them as frameworks to develop their views on issues of global justice. This class meets on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9:30-11AM. Please note that in addition to the listed lecture time, students must sign up for a 45-min discussion session. The schedule of the discussion session will be arranged and announced during the first week of the quarter.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lin, T. (PI); Cooper, E. (TA)

POLISCI 137A: Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition (ETHICSOC 176, PHIL 176, PHIL 276, POLISCI 337A)

(Graduate students register for 276.) What makes political institutions legitimate? What makes them just? When do citizens have a right to revolt against those who rule over them? Which of our fellow citizens must we tolerate?Surprisingly, the answers given by some of the most prominent modern philosophers turn on the idea of a social contract. We will focus on the work of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Rawls.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Hills, D. (PI); Ray, W. (TA)

POLISCI 182: Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change (COMM 180, CS 182, ETHICSOC 182, PHIL 82, PUBLPOL 182)

Examination of recent developments in computing technology and platforms through the lenses of philosophy, public policy, social science, and engineering.  Course is organized around five main units: algorithmic decision-making and bias; data privacy and civil liberties; artificial intelligence and autonomous systems; the power of private computing platforms; and issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology sector.  Each unit considers the promise, perils, rights, and responsibilities at play in technological developments. Prerequisite: CS106A.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 230A: Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 181, CLASSICS 381, ETHICSOC 130A, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 330A)

Political philosophy in classical antiquity, centered on reading canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle against other texts and against the political and historical background. Topics include: interdependence, legitimacy, justice; political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

POLISCI 231: High-Stakes Politics: Case Studies in Political Philosophy, Institutions, and Interests (CLASSICS 382, POLISCI 331)

Normative political theory combined with positive political theory to better explain how major texts may have responded to and influenced changes in formal and informal institutions. Emphasis is on historical periods in which catastrophic institutional failure was a recent memory or a realistic possibility. Case studies include Greek city-states in the classical period and the northern Atlantic community of the 17th and 18th centuries including upheavals in England and the American Revolutionary era.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

POLISCI 231A: Democracy Ancient and Modern: From Politics to Political Theory (CLASSICS 149, CLASSICS 249, PHIL 176J, PHIL 276J, POLISCI 331A)

Modern political theorists, from Hobbes and Rousseau, to Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, to Sheldon Wolin and Robert Dahl, have turned to the classical Greek theory and practice of politics, both for inspiration and as a critical target. The last 30 years has seen renewed interest in Athenian democracy among both historians and theorists, and closer interaction between empiricists concerned with 'what really happened, and why' and theorists concerned with the possibilities and limits of citizen self-government as a normatively favored approach to political organization. The course examines the current state of scholarship on the practice of politics in ancient city-states, including but not limited to democratic Athens; the relationship between practice and theory in antiquity (Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and others); the uses to which ancient theory and practice have been and are being put by modern political theorists; and experiments in democratic practice (citizen assemblies, deliberative councils, lotteries) inspired by ancient precedents. Suggested Prerequisites: Origins of Political Thought OR The Greeks OR other coursework on ancient political theory or practice. (For undergraduate students: suggest but do not require that you have taken either Origins of Political Thought, or The Greeks, or some other course that gives you some introduction to Greek political history or thought. )
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Ober, J. (PI)

POLISCI 232T: The Dialogue of Democracy (AMSTUD 137, COMM 137W, COMM 237, POLISCI 332T)

All forms of democracy require some kind of communication so people can be aware of issues and make decisions. This course looks at competing visions of what democracy should be and different notions of the role of dialogue in a democracy. Is it just campaigning or does it include deliberation? Small scale discussions or sound bites on television? Or social media? What is the role of technology in changing our democratic practices, to mobilize, to persuade, to solve public problems? This course will include readings from political theory about democratic ideals - from the American founders to J.S. Mill and the Progressives to Joseph Schumpeter and modern writers skeptical of the public will. It will also include contemporary examinations of the media and the internet to see how those practices are changing and how the ideals can or cannot be realized.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

POLISCI 233: Justice and Cities (URBANST 134)

Cities have most often been where struggles for social justice happen, where injustice is most glaring and where new visions of just communities are developed and tested. This class brings political theories of justice and democracy together with historical and contemporary empirical work on city design, planning, and policies to ask the following questions: What makes a city just or unjust? How have people tried to make cities more just? What has made these efforts succeed or fail? Each session will include a case study of a particular city, largely with a focus on the United States. Students will develop research projects examining a city of their choice through the lens of a particular aspect of justice and injustice.
Last offered: Autumn 2017 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 233F: Science, Technology, and Society and the Humanities in the Face of Looming Disaster (FRENCH 228, ITALIAN 228)

How STS and the Humanities can together help think out the looming catastrophes that put the future of humankind in jeopardy.
Last offered: Winter 2018 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 234: Democratic Theory (ETHICSOC 234, PHIL 176P)

Most people agree that democracy is a good thing, but do we agree on what democracy is? This course will examine the concept of democracy in political philosophy. We will address the following questions: What reason(s), if any, do we have for valuing democracy? What does it mean to treat people as political equals? When does a group of individuals constitute "a people," and how can a people make genuinely collective decisions? Can democracy really be compatible with social inequality? With an entrenched constitution? With representation?
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Coyne, B. (PI)

POLISCI 234P: Deliberative Democracy and its Critics (AMSTUD 135, COMM 135W, COMM 235, COMM 335, ETHICSOC 135F, POLISCI 334P)

This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

POLISCI 234S: The Political Theory of Progress Reconsidered

This course will consider the origins and fate of Enlightenment theories of political progress. We will begin with the classic accounts of progress in Kant, Hegel, and Marx, before turning to conservative critics of progress (Burke, de Maistre), and non-conservative challenges to the idea of progress (Weber, Schmitt, Adorno, Arendt), before concluding with contemporary controversies around the idea of progress as it pertains to technology, the environment, and economic inequality.
Last offered: Spring 2022 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 235: Chinese Political Thought: 1895-2021 (POLISCI 335)

Everybody is talking about China now. The competition between China and the Western world is not only about economic growth, technological advancement, and military strength. What is ultimately at stake is a key theoretical question: Can China's political traditions and current practices (such as one-party meritocracy) offer a legitimate and desirable alternative to the ideal of liberal democracy? This course aims to approach this question through the lens of intellectual history and political theory. Attention is given to how Chinese thinkers since 1895 have conceived of China's place in the world, how they have used Western political ideas to transform China, how they have creatively transformed Chinese traditions to meet the challenge of modernity, and, most importantly, how they have advanced political ideals that claim to be able fix the problems in the West (such as imperialism and capitalism). We will also learn how Western thinkers are responding to the challenge from China. The first half of the course covers foundational texts in Chinese intellectual history from 1895 to the Maoist Era. The second half is about political thinking in contemporary China. No prior knowledge about China, Chinese, or political theory/philosophy is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2021 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 235N: Political Thought in Modern Asia (CHINA 146, CHINA 246, ETHICSOC 146, POLISCI 335N)

The study of political theory in the United States has been accused of being Western-centric: We tend to focus on intellectual traditions from Plato to NATO, while ignoring the vast world of non-Western societies and the ways they think about politics and public life. How do Chinese thinkers conceptualize human rights and good governance? How do Indian intellectuals reconcile democracy and inherited hierarchies in Hinduism? How do Islamic scholars view the relationship between religious authority and secular authority? Should we regard liberal democracy, or Western civilization more broadly, as representing the universal value guiding every society? Or, should we learn from non-Western ideas and values so as to solve problems plaguing Western societies? How can competing visions of good life coexist in a globalized and increasingly pluralistic world? This course aims to answer these questions by exploring three Asian traditions and their perspectives on politics: Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islam. We will focus on the modern period (19th-21st centuries) and the ways intellectuals in these societies respond to the challenge of modernity and Western superiority. Special attention is given to how these intellectuals conceive of the relationship between modernity and their respective traditions: Are they compatible or mutually exclusive? In which ways do intellectuals interpret these traditions so as to render them (in)compatible with modernity? We will read academic articles written by Anglophone scholars as well as original texts written by non-Western thinkers. No knowledge of non-Western languages is required.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 236: Philanthropy for Sustainable Development (ETHICSOC 232T, POLISCI 236S, SUSTAIN 222)

This course teaches students how to pursue social change through philanthropy with a focus on sustainable development. Students learn about the approaches, history, and key debates in philanthropy, and apply their knowledge by collaboratively making a substantial class contribution to one or more select nonprofit organizations. This class responds to the reality confronting all philanthropists: There are many ways in which we can change the world for the better, but our money and time is finite. How then can we best use our limited resources to accomplish change? And how will we know we've been successful? By the end of the course, students will understand the fundamentals of effective philanthropy, including how to define problems, develop a theory of change, evaluate outcomes, and reduce unintended harm. Students of all levels of familiarity with philanthropy are welcome to join and no discipline is privileged in the class.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 236S: Philanthropy for Sustainable Development (ETHICSOC 232T, POLISCI 236, SUSTAIN 222)

This course teaches students how to pursue social change through philanthropy with a focus on sustainable development. Students learn about the approaches, history, and key debates in philanthropy, and apply their knowledge by collaboratively making a substantial class contribution to one or more select nonprofit organizations. This class responds to the reality confronting all philanthropists: There are many ways in which we can change the world for the better, but our money and time is finite. How then can we best use our limited resources to accomplish change? And how will we know we've been successful? By the end of the course, students will understand the fundamentals of effective philanthropy, including how to define problems, develop a theory of change, evaluate outcomes, and reduce unintended harm. Students of all levels of familiarity with philanthropy are welcome to join and no discipline is privileged in the class.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

POLISCI 237: Varieties of Conservatism in America

This seminar explores the conservative movement in America and its principal strands. It begins with an introduction to the modern tradition of freedom and America's founding principles since the understanding of conservatism - in the United States as elsewhere - requires some acquaintance with that which conservatives seek to conserve. The introduction includes study of Marx's classic critique of liberal democracy because the understanding of conservativism also requires an appreciation of the leading alternative. The seminar then turns to developments in the immediate aftermath of World War II, when a self-consciously conservative movement in the United States first emerged as a national force and concludes with an examination of the leading debates among conservatives today. The seminar meets once a week. It revolves around careful reading of assigned texts, robust discussion of the materials, and analysis from a variety of perspectives. Students will be required to submit one-page ungraded reflections in advance of each class, and a substantial final paper at the conclusion of the course.
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Berkowitz, P. (PI)

POLISCI 335N: Political Thought in Modern Asia (CHINA 146, CHINA 246, ETHICSOC 146, POLISCI 235N)

The study of political theory in the United States has been accused of being Western-centric: We tend to focus on intellectual traditions from Plato to NATO, while ignoring the vast world of non-Western societies and the ways they think about politics and public life. How do Chinese thinkers conceptualize human rights and good governance? How do Indian intellectuals reconcile democracy and inherited hierarchies in Hinduism? How do Islamic scholars view the relationship between religious authority and secular authority? Should we regard liberal democracy, or Western civilization more broadly, as representing the universal value guiding every society? Or, should we learn from non-Western ideas and values so as to solve problems plaguing Western societies? How can competing visions of good life coexist in a globalized and increasingly pluralistic world? This course aims to answer these questions by exploring three Asian traditions and their perspectives on politics: Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islam. We will focus on the modern period (19th-21st centuries) and the ways intellectuals in these societies respond to the challenge of modernity and Western superiority. Special attention is given to how these intellectuals conceive of the relationship between modernity and their respective traditions: Are they compatible or mutually exclusive? In which ways do intellectuals interpret these traditions so as to render them (in)compatible with modernity? We will read academic articles written by Anglophone scholars as well as original texts written by non-Western thinkers. No knowledge of non-Western languages is required.
Last offered: Winter 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PSYC 55N: Secrecy

What is a secret and why do we keep them? What is the cost - and the burden - of secret-keeping? The focus of this seminar will be professional secrecy, as we explore corporate confidentiality and the secret-keeping expected of all of us as professionals, and those who are engaged in issues of national security. Secrecy will be discussed in both ethical and practical frameworks. We will also explore psychology of secrecy, and secret-keeping in relationships. Students will begin to develop a personal ethic related to secrecy and will grapple with the intersection of secrets, lies and obfuscation.
Terms: Aut, Win | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Jacobs, J. (PI)

PSYC 56N: The Personal Genomics Revolution: Focus on Mental Health

The Human Genome Project transformed the field of medicine and launched the "Personal Genomics Revolution". It is now possible to view your DNA in minute detail for only $99. Height, weight, educational attainment, depression risk, and much more, can be predicted using genetic information. Ethical questions abound regarding the use of genetic information in medicine, the legal system, government, and private companies. On the other hand, genetic findings may dramatically improve mental health treatment by guiding the development of new medications, matching patients to the right treatments, and identifying people for whom early mental health services might make all the difference. How much can you learn about risk for mental health problems from your DNA? This course will provide the foundational genetic and statistical information necessary for understanding the current and future capabilities of personal genomic predictions for mental health outcomes including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. We will also explore the ways in which genetic data can reveal where our ancestors lived as well as the consequences of a lack of diversity in genetic databases. This course also focuses on the practice of science, how it works well and how it can go terribly wrong. Learning from past examples of the misuse of genetic information, students will propose and debate strategies for maximizing the utility of genetic research to improve mental health while simultaneously limiting potential harms.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PSYC 111Q: The Changing Face of "Mental Illness" in Women: Historical, Medical and Artistic Approaches

In this seminar we want to take a look at women's lives beginning in the past century to the present and the many changes which occurred in conceptualizing and understanding mental illness. The female reproductive system has been linked to mental illness in women for centuries. The womb was believed to be the source of anxiety and depression, leading women to become 'hysterical'. But what does 'hysteria' really mean, and how have historical and cultural attitudes towards women framed the study of women's mental health? How have the expectations of and demands on women and their role in society changed from the 19th to the 20th century? How have advances in health care and changing economic conditions influenced women's health? The course will introduce students to historical and current concepts of mental illness in women. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMS), eating disorders, the hysterias and functional neurologic disorders and infertility and postpartum depression will be analyzed through a historical bio-psycho-social lens. Historical reading will include primary sources, such as women's diaries and physicians' casebooks and medical case records, as well as secondary sources such as advice books, and 19th- and 20th-century medical texts. Guest speakers from the art history and literature departments will stimulate dialogue regarding literary and artistic images and the social and cultural contexts of these disorders. Importantly, we will examine the changing face of "mental illness in women" in art, literature and medicine--the evolution of diversity in represented voices and the current methods of researching and treating the interface between the female reproductive cycle and psychiatric illness in diverse populations of women. Embedded within each lecture will be break-out sessions with opportunities for students to ask questions and to discuss a topic in greater depth. Students will have the opportunity to complete their own interdisciplinary projects for the course. Prior projects have included not only power point presentations of diverse topics, but also short films and stories, and future women's mental health research project proposals.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

PUBLPOL 63Q: Democratizing Ethics with Discrimination, Inequality, Injustice and Technology in Mind

This seminar/practicum will invite students to ¿roll up our sleeves¿ and deliver concrete recommendations for making ethical decision-making accessible to ordinary citizens rather than just determined by corporate giants, law makers or academic experts. We will explore practical approaches to the following questions: How can we make ethical decision-making accessible to ordinary citizens in a complex world of technology, biology and even space exploration? How can we incentivize citizens to care about integrating ethics into their decision-making? How do we each have ethical power in society even where economic and technological control lie with tech giants and lodged in the brains of experts? What, if anything, is different about citizens¿ sense of moral responsibility in society today (and how has technology contributed to shifting views)? How can we develop an ethics barometer¿soliciting the views, and facilitating the influence of, ordinary citizens on key ethical questions outside of normal channels like voting and individual engagement with social media? The course will consider a number of cutting-edge topics from Covid-19 and gene editing and long-standing challenges such as racism. Highly interactive course. Very short papers and teamwork along the way in lieu of final paper or exam. 3 credits (option C/NC for students not wishing WAYS credit). Will be offered on-line Spring 2021.
Last offered: Spring 2021 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PUBLPOL 103C: Justice (ETHICSOC 171, PHIL 171, POLISCI 103, POLISCI 336S)

Justice, as we use the term in this class, is a question about social cooperation. People can produce much more cooperatively than the sum of what they could produce as individuals, and these gains from cooperation are what makes civilization possible. But on what terms should we cooperate? How should we divide, as the philosopher John Rawls puts it, "the benefits and burdens of social cooperation"? Working primarily within the Anglo-American philosophical tradition, we'll discuss different answers to this big question as a way to bring together some of the most prominent debates in modern political philosophy. We'll study theories including utilitarianism, libertarianism, classical liberalism, and egalitarian liberalism, and we'll take on complex current issues like reparations for racial injustice, the gender pay gap, and responses to climate change. This class is meant to be an accessible entry point to political philosophy. No experience with political science or philosophy is required or assumed, and we will spend time on the strategy of philosophy as well: understanding how our authors make their arguments to better respond to them and make our own.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER

PUBLPOL 103D: Ethics and Politics of Public Service (CSRE 178, ETHICSOC 133, PHIL 175A, PHIL 275A, POLISCI 133, URBANST 122)

Public service is private action for the public good, work done by individuals and groups that aims at some vision of helping society or the world. This course examines some of the many ethical and political questions that arise in doing public service work, whether volunteering, service learning, humanitarian endeavors overseas, or public service professions such as medicine, teaching, or even "ethical investing" and "ethical entrepreneurship." What motives do people have to engage in public service work? Are self-interested motives troublesome? What is the connection between service work and justice? Should the government or schools require citizens or students to perform service work? Is mandatory service an oxymoron?
Last offered: Spring 2018 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER

PUBLPOL 103F: Ethics of Truth in a Post-Truth World (PUBLPOL 203F)

This course will explore changing notions of truth in a world in which technology, global risks, and societal developments are blurring the boundaries of humanity and boring through traditional notions of nation states, institutions, and human identity. It will also offer a parallel journey to consider truth in your own life and how truth contributes to your own resilience in the face of life challenges. We will ask one over-arching question: Does truth matter anymore? If so, why and how? If not, why not? Either way, how does truth relate to ethical decision-making by individuals and institutions and to an ethical society? How does truth relate to a life well lived? Seven themes will organize our exploration of more specific topics: science and subjectivity; identity; memory; authenticity; artificial intelligence; imagination; and a life well-lived. Examples of topics to be explored include, among others: truth and technology (from ChatGPT to home devices); white supremacy; DNA testing and the 'identify as' movement, and identity; University history (Rhodes, Georgetown slavery, Yale Calhoun College, Junipero Serra...); the connections among truth, memory, and history; new questions in gender and racial identity; Chinese beautifying app Meitu and other social media "truth modifiers"; the sharing economy; the impact of AI and DNA testing sites on legal truth. We will consider how we determine and verify the truth; how we "do" truth; the role of truth in ethical decision-making; the importance of truth to effective ethical policy; and the relationship of the truth to a life well lived. An analytically rigorous short final paper in lieu of exam. This three-credit seminar may be taken as a stand-alone course or may accompany PUBLPOL 134 Ethics on the Edge to fulfill the Public Policy major ethics requirement. The course is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates will not be at a disadvantage. Everyone will be challenged. Distinguished Career Institute Fellows are welcome and should contact Dr. Susan Liautaud directly at susanliautaud@googlemail.com. Students wishing to take the course who are unable to sign up within the enrollment limit should contact Dr. Susan Liautaud at susanliautaud@googlemail.com. *Public Policy majors taking the course to complete the core requirements and students taking the course for Ways credit must obtain a letter grade. Other students may take the course for a letter grade or C/NC. To satisfy a Ways requirement, this course must be taken for at least 3 units.
Terms: Spr | Units: 2-3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PUBLPOL 134: Ethics on the Edge: Business, Non-Profit Organizations, Government, and Individuals (PUBLPOL 234)

(PUBLPOL 134, PUBLPOL 234 - 3 credits; Ways - ER; Same as LAW 7020) The objective of this course is to explore cutting-edge ethical challenges in a world in which technology, global risks, and societal developments are accelerating faster than our understanding and the law can keep pace. The course also offers a parallel personal journey: an opportunity to explore your own ethics and increase your own resilience when life throws challenges your way. We will unravel the ethics challenges and problem-solve across sectors: business, government, non-profit, and academia. A framework for ethical decision-making underpins the course. However, there is significant space for forming your own views on a wide range of issues. Prominent guest speakers will attend certain sessions interactively. The relationships among ethics and technology, culture, leadership, law, and global risks (AI, synthetic biology, inequality, privacy, financial system meltdown, cyber-terrorism, climate change, diversity and inclusion, etc.) will inform discussion. A broad range of topics might include: designer genetics; civilian space travel; generative AI; the Supreme Court case on University affirmative action; new wearable devices; free speech on University campuses; opioid addiction; corporate and financial sector scandals (Theranos, FTX, currency); and non-profit sector ethics challenges (e.g. medical humanitarian aid in Gaza). Final project in lieu of exam on a topic of student's choice. Attendance required. Class participation important, with multiple opportunities to earn participation credit beyond speaking in class. Strong emphasis on rigorous analysis, critical thinking, and testing ideas in real-world contexts. Note that this course will require one make-up evening session on a Wednesday or Thursday in early May in lieu of the final class session in June. Enrollment will be decided via application, which can be found at https://forms.gle/xw9bPh5wjxPZZcwf6. **The form will open on 3/6 at 5pm and close on 3/13 at 5pm.** The course offers credit toward Public Policy core requirements (if taken in combination with PUBLPOL 103F) and it satisfies the undergraduate Ways of Thinking - ER requirement. The course is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates will not be at a disadvantage. Everyone will be challenged. Students taking the course for Ways credit and Public Policy majors taking the course to complete the core requirements must obtain a letter grade. Others may take the course for a letter grade or C/NC. Students seeking credit for other majors should consult their departments.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PUBLPOL 182: Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change (COMM 180, CS 182, ETHICSOC 182, PHIL 82, POLISCI 182)

Examination of recent developments in computing technology and platforms through the lenses of philosophy, public policy, social science, and engineering.  Course is organized around five main units: algorithmic decision-making and bias; data privacy and civil liberties; artificial intelligence and autonomous systems; the power of private computing platforms; and issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology sector.  Each unit considers the promise, perils, rights, and responsibilities at play in technological developments. Prerequisite: CS106A.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PWR 194BR: Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: The Rhetoric of Health and Medicine

This course will aim to give students a foundation in the rhetoric of health and medicine across major stakeholders researchers, government, institutions, doctors, patients, journalists, and a general public obsessed with health and wellness. For example, we will analyze key theories about the relation of institutions, doctors, and patients, from Foucault's Birth of the Clinic to Rita Charon's Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness. We will also investigate how patients make sense of their illnesses through art and memoirs, how doctors are trained in an empathetic bedside manner, and the rhetoric of medical breakthroughs. From this foundation, students will choose an issue to tackle in their own research projects, from the politicization of Planned Parenthood and women's healthcare, to the experience of trans patients seeking care, to the rhetoric of access vs. coverage in current debates about health insurance. Prerequisite: completion of WR-1 & WR-2 req or permission of instructor. For full description, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/additional-elective-courses/rhetoric-health-and-medicine
Last offered: Autumn 2017 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PWR 194DH: Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Empathy, Ethics, and Compassion Meditation (CSRE 94)

Does not fulfill NSC requirement. In this course, we'll extend this discussion by expanding our thinking about rhetoric as a means of persuasion to consider its relation to empathy-as a mode of listening to and understanding audiences and communities we identify with as well as those whose beliefs and actions can be lethal. We'll also practice compassion medication and empathetic rhetoric to see how these ethical stances affect us individually and investigate the ways they may and may not be scaled to address social justice more broadly. Finally, with the course readings and discussions in mind, you will explore a social justice issue and create an essay, a workshop, campaign or movement strategy, podcast, vlog, infographic, Facebook group, syllabus, etc. to help move us closer to positive change. Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.
Last offered: Autumn 2017 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

PWR 194KD: Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Technology and Human Values

Pining for a job in Google X but a little afraid of what disrupting the next social system will do to humans when all is said and done? Unsure where the real conversation is happening at Stanford about how to think more carefully and thoughtfully about the tech we are being trained to make? Curious to know what underlying common ground might link fuzzies with techies, humanists with engineers, scientists with philosophers? These are some of the issues we¿ll address in this seminar. You will be able to choose your own current topic¿drones, tech and medicine, Big Data, Cloud applications, AI and consciousness, cybersecurity, tech and the law¿for which you will choose readings and write a seminar paper and then co-lead discussion. The class goals are to know better the ethical value of one¿s tech work and research and to be able to express to scientists and non-scientists alike the ways in which this work contributes to the greater human good (beyond strict convenience or short-term profit). Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.
Last offered: Winter 2016 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

PWR 194SS: Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: Making Rhetoric Matter: Human Rights at Home (CSRE 194SS)

'Human rights' often sounds like it needs defending in far-off places: in distant public squares where soldiers menace gatherings of citizens, in dark jails where prisoners are tortured for their politics, in unknown streets where gender inequality has brutal consequences. But Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer fighting for social and racial justice in the jails of Alabama, proposes that we try 'proximity': that we get close to the injustices that are already close to us. This class thus takes human rights as a local issue, focusing on how terms like 'human' and 'rights' are interpreted on our campus and in our neighborhoods, cities, and region. Instead of a traditional human rights policy framework, we'll use the lens of intersectional ethics to explore specific rhetorical issues in gender politics, citizenship, higher education, police brutality, and mass incarceration. We will write, speak, and move across genres, responding to the work of incarcerated artists, creating embodied workshops, 'translating' ideas into new media (does someone you know need an animated video about gender pronouns? Or maybe it's time for a podcast about #PrisonRenaissance?), doing collaborative research, and 'writing back' to our audiences. For course video and full description see: https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-courses/making-rhetoric-matter-human-rights-home.nnThis course is part of the PWR advanced elective track in Social and Racial Justice (SRJ). Prerequisite: first two levels of the writing requirement or equivalent transfer credit. For topics, see https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/pwr/courses/advanced-pwr-courses.
Last offered: Spring 2017 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

RELIGST 41: Just Religion: Spirituality, Social Action, and the Climate Crisis

This course explores how certain religions--Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism--have addressed the ecological crisis, and how they might be drawn upon to address climate change in the future. Preserving the distinctiveness of each religious tradition, this seminar examines: the issue of religion as the cause of the environmental crisis; the resources for ecological responses within each tradition; the emergence of new religious ecologies and ecological theologies; the contribution of world religions to environmental ethics; and the degree to which the environmental crisis has functioned--and will function--as the basis of inter-faith collaboration. We will work to develop a shared vocabulary in environmental humanities, and special attention will be given to the contribution of religion to animal studies, ecofeminism, religion and the science of ecology, and the interplay between faith, scholarship and activism. But this class will be more: students will learn by engaging in social action. As our readings are put into practice through community campaigns that address real-world problems, my hope is that your knowledge of these sources will be deepened -- and challenged -- by what you learn in your social action campaigns, and that you will develop a more critical and thoughtful understanding of public issues and community change through action and reflection. Thus, this course is an action-oriented, solutions-based, course on community activism and an exercise in civic democracy. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Mayse, E. (PI)

RELIGST 141: Between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, JR.: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Freedom (AFRICAAM 221, AMSTUD 141X, CSRE 141R, HISTORY 151M, POLISCI 126)

Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both icons of the twentieth-century civil rights and black freedom movements. Often characterized as polar opposites - one advocating armed self-defense and the other non-violence against all provocation - they continue to be important religious, political, and intellectual models for how we imagine the past as well as for current issues concerning religion, race, politics and freedom struggles in the United States and globally. This course focuses on the political and spiritual lives of Martin and Malcolm. We will examine their personal biographies, speeches, writings, representations, FBI Files, and legacies as a way to better understand how the intersections of religion, race, and politics came to bare upon the freedom struggles of people of color in the US and abroad. The course also takes seriously the evolutions in both Martin and Malcolm's political approaches and intellectual development, focusing especially on the last years of their respective lives. We will also examine the critical literature that takes on the leadership styles and political philosophies of these communal leaders, as well as the very real opposition and surveillance they faced from state forces like the police and FBI. Students will gain an understanding of what social conditions, religious structures and institutions, and personal experiences led to first the emergence and then the assassinations of these two figures. We will discuss the subtleties of their political analyses, pinpointing the key differences and similarities of their philosophies, approaches, and legacies, and we will apply these debates of the mid- twentieth century to contemporary events and social movements in terms of how their legacies are articulated and what we can learn from them in struggles for justice and recognition in twenty-first century America and beyond.
Last offered: Winter 2023 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

RELIGST 150: Texts that Changed the World from the Ancient Middle East (COMPLIT 31, HUMCORE 111, JEWISHST 150)

This course traces the story of the cradle of human civilization. We will begin with the earliest human stories, the Gilgamesh Epic and biblical literature, and follow the path of the development of law, religion, philosophy and literature in the ancient Mediterranean or Middle Eastern world, to the emergence of Jewish and Christian thinking. We will pose questions about how this past continues to inform our present: What stories, myths, and ideas remain foundational to us? How did the stories and myths shape civilizations and form larger communities? How did the earliest stories conceive of human life and the divine? What are the ideas about the order of nature, and the place of human life within that order? How is the relationship between the individual and society constituted? This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

SLE 92: Structured Liberal Education

Focusing on great works of philosophy, religion, literature, painting, and film drawn largely from the Western tradition, the SLE curriculum places particular emphasis on artists and intellectuals who brought new ways of thinking and new ways of creating into the world, often overthrowing prior traditions in the process. These are the works that redefined beauty, challenged the authority of conventional wisdom, raised questions of continuing importance to us today, and - for good or ill - created the world we still live in. Texts may include: Augustine, the Qur'an, Dante, Rumi, Machiavelli, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Las Casas, Descartes, Locke, Mill, Schleiermacher, and Flaubert.
Terms: Win | Units: 8 | UG Reqs: College, GER:DB-Hum, GER:IHUM-2, THINK, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER, Writing SLE

SOC 8: Sport, Competition, and Society

This course uses the tools of social science to help understand debates and puzzles from contemporary sports, and in doing so shows how sports and other contests provide many telling examples of enduring social dynamics and larger social trends. We also consider how sport serves as the entry point for many larger debates about the morality and ethics raised by ongoing social change. There is a one hour discussion section required for this course.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Freese, J. (PI)

SOC 18N: Ethics, Morality, and Markets

Markets are inescapably entangled with questions of right and wrong. What counts as a fair price or a fair wage? Should people be able to sell their organs? Do companies have a responsibility to make sure algorithmic decisions don't perpetuate racism and misogyny? Even when market exchange seems coldly rational, it still embodies normative ideas about the right ways to value objects and people and to determine who gets what. In this seminar, we will study markets as social institutions permeated with moral meaning. We will explore how powerful actors work to institutionalize certain understandings of good and bad; unpack how particular moral visions materially benefit some groups of people more so than others; examine the ways people draw on notions of fairness to justify and contest the market's distribution of resources and opportunities; and consider who has agency to build markets according to different normative ideals. Most course readings are empirical research, so we will also critically discuss how social scientists use data and methods to build evidence about the way the world works.
Last offered: Winter 2020 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

SOC 187: Ethics, Morality, and Markets (SOC 287)

Markets are inescapably entangled with questions of right and wrong. What counts as a fair price or a fair wage? Should people be able to sell their organs? Do companies have a responsibility to make sure algorithmic decisions don't perpetuate racism and misogyny? Even when market exchange seems coldly rational, it still embodies normative ideas about the right ways to value objects and people and to determine who gets what. In this course, we will study markets as social institutions permeated with moral meaning. We will explore how powerful actors work to institutionalize certain understandings of good and bad; unpack how particular moral visions materially benefit some groups of people more so than others; examine the ways people draw on notions of fairness to justify and contest the market's distribution of resources and opportunities; and consider who has agency to build markets according to different normative ideals. Most course readings are empirical research, so we will also critically discuss how social scientists use data and methods to build evidence about the way the world works.
Last offered: Autumn 2021 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

SOMGEN 140Q: The Beginning: the Brain, the Womb, and the Elusive Definition of Life

Can we pinpoint the precise moment that a human life begins? If so, what do we do with that information? Together we will chart the path between conception and birth with particular focus on the fetal brain and the placental interface. What can biology tell us and where are the gaps? In the absence of a definitive answer, what spiritual traditions, ethical frameworks, and reasoning might we rely on to orient us? Grounded in biology, we will survey a diverse spectrum of attitudes about personhood, fate, and personal responsibility that can be applied to urgent issues in reproductive rights.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

SPANLANG 108SL: Advanced Spanish Service-Learning: Migration, Asylum & Human Rights at the Border

Students develop advanced Spanish language proficiency through examination of issues surrounding current immigration and refugee crises. There will be class discussions of Central American contexts, international treaties, human rights, and U.S. immigration law. Class will include expert commentary from legal and mental health professionals, human rights specialists, migrants, and refugees. Legal, medical, and psychological implications of migration will be examined. Students should enroll in the companion course HUMRTS 108 to receive units for volunteer hours performed throughout the quarter, concurrent with class meetings and assignments. Service-learning opportunities will entail working directly with Spanish-speaking immigrant and asylum seekers in detention in the U.S. Due to COVID-19, all service-learning hours will be performed remotely. Taught entirely in Spanish. Cardinal Course (certified by Haas Center). Prerequisite: Prerequisite: completion of SPANLANG 13, 23B, or placement test equivalent to SPANLANG 100 or higher. SPANLANG 108SL is a requirement for HUMRTS 108.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Brates, V. (PI)

SUSTAIN 140: Environmental Humanities: Finding Our Place on a Changing Planet (BIO 184, ENGLISH 140D)

The rapid degradation of our planet threatens the health and survival of communities and ecosystems around the world. How did we get here? What cultural, philosophical, and ethical challenges underlie the separation of humanity from nature and precipitate unprecedented ecological destruction? How can we make sense of this, and how can we reimagine a more connected future? Through engaging the work of environmental philosophers, cultural ecologists, artists, humanities scholars, Indigenous leaders, and others with land-based knowledge, this course will prompt you to think deeply about humanity's place in the world and explore strategies to change our course. Together, we will explore contrasting cultural paradigms around human-nature relationships and apply learnings to action - including through final projects that involve external audiences in meaningful environmental contemplation or impact.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

SUSTAIN 222: Philanthropy for Sustainable Development (ETHICSOC 232T, POLISCI 236, POLISCI 236S)

This course teaches students how to pursue social change through philanthropy with a focus on sustainable development. Students learn about the approaches, history, and key debates in philanthropy, and apply their knowledge by collaboratively making a substantial class contribution to one or more select nonprofit organizations. This class responds to the reality confronting all philanthropists: There are many ways in which we can change the world for the better, but our money and time is finite. How then can we best use our limited resources to accomplish change? And how will we know we've been successful? By the end of the course, students will understand the fundamentals of effective philanthropy, including how to define problems, develop a theory of change, evaluate outcomes, and reduce unintended harm. Students of all levels of familiarity with philanthropy are welcome to join and no discipline is privileged in the class.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER

TAPS 12N: To Die For: Antigone and Political Dissent (CLASSICS 17N)

(Formerly CLASSGEN 6N.) Preference to freshmen. Tensions inherent in the democracy of ancient Athens; how the character of Antigone emerges in later drama, film, and political thought as a figure of resistance against illegitimate authority; and her relevance to contemporary struggles for women's and workers' rights and national liberation. Readings and screenings include versions of "Antigone" by Sophocles, Anouilh, Brecht, Fugard/Kani/Ntshona, Paulin, Glowacki, Gurney, and von Trotta.
Last offered: Autumn 2022 | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-ER

TAPS 180Q: Noam Chomsky: The Drama of Resistance

Preference to sophomores. Chomsky's ideas and work which challenge the political and economic paradigms governing the U.S. Topics include his model for linguistics; cold war U.S. involvements in S.E. Asia, the Middle East, Central and S. America, the Caribbean, and Indonesia and E. Timor; the media, terrorism, ideology, and culture; student and popular movements; and the role of resistance.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Rehm, R. (PI)

THINK 63: Justice and the University

How do the fundamental purpose of the university, the pursuit of knowledge, and the pursuit of justice coincide? Or do they conflict and pull us in different directions? Our goal in this class will be to focus on the intersection of justice and knowledge by examining how issues of liberty, equality, and security arise on college campuses. University campuses have a long history as sites of activism across a wide variety of domains and this course will cover a number of them including trigger warnings and safe spaces; free speech; ethics in research; Dreamer Act and college access for undocumented persons. Our goal in this course is to get students to think critically about tradeoffs among society's most treasured goals. When these goals come into tension, how should decisions be made about which goal must give way? We aim to teach students how to identify and think about these conflicts and how to craft arguments, both written and oral, in support of their positions, using a variety of source materials.
Last offered: Autumn 2019 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: College, THINK, WAY-ER

URBANST 122: Ethics and Politics of Public Service (CSRE 178, ETHICSOC 133, PHIL 175A, PHIL 275A, POLISCI 133, PUBLPOL 103D)

Public service is private action for the public good, work done by individuals and groups that aims at some vision of helping society or the world. This course examines some of the many ethical and political questions that arise in doing public service work, whether volunteering, service learning, humanitarian endeavors overseas, or public service professions such as medicine, teaching, or even "ethical investing" and "ethical entrepreneurship." What motives do people have to engage in public service work? Are self-interested motives troublesome? What is the connection between service work and justice? Should the government or schools require citizens or students to perform service work? Is mandatory service an oxymoron?
Last offered: Spring 2018 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER

URBANST 126A: Ethics and Leadership in Public Service (CSRE 126C, EDUC 126A, ETHICSOC 79, LEAD 126A)

This course explores ethical questions that arise in public service work, as well as leadership theory and skills relevant to public service work. Through readings, discussions, in-class activities, assignments, and guest lectures, students will develop a foundation and vision for a future of ethical and effective service leadership. This course serves as a gateway for interested students to participate in the Haas Center's Public Service Leadership Program.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lobo, K. (PI)

URBANST 134: Justice and Cities (POLISCI 233)

Cities have most often been where struggles for social justice happen, where injustice is most glaring and where new visions of just communities are developed and tested. This class brings political theories of justice and democracy together with historical and contemporary empirical work on city design, planning, and policies to ask the following questions: What makes a city just or unjust? How have people tried to make cities more just? What has made these efforts succeed or fail? Each session will include a case study of a particular city, largely with a focus on the United States. Students will develop research projects examining a city of their choice through the lens of a particular aspect of justice and injustice.
Last offered: Autumn 2017 | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-ER
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