This course offers a case-based approach to ethical topics in medicine, such as abortion, genetic testing, physician-assisted death, and euthanasia. We emphasize utilizing ethical principles and methods of case analysis.
This course affords graduate students a professional development opportunity to build skills that lay the groundwork for becoming an expert teacher. Direct, hands-on experience along with mentoring to develop teaching skills. Students develop lesson plans, lead small group discussions, obtain guidance and feedback by working closely with a faculty mentor to improve pedagogy methods and skills - grading, course website development & management. MA Bioethics graduate students only. Credit/no-credit only.
This course entails a research project culminating in a scholarly paper suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. MA Bioethics graduate students only. Credit/no-credit only.
This course examines problems in bioethics from diverse global standpoints, including East Asian, Sub-Saharan African and Western. Our emphasis is on developing a deeper understanding of the cultural assumptions that lie just beneath the surface of bioethics debates. Readings are from contemporary philosophy, film and literature. We recommend prior course work in ethics, philosophy, or global health. Offered jointly with G H 419.
This course is an examination of the ethical problem of allocating scarce medical resources. We will emphasize the fundamental principles of justice that support alternative health policies. The first part of the course introduces theories of justice, and considers the support these theories lend to the idea of a right to health care.
This course provides a survey of contemporary ethical issues that arise in the clinical and research environment when children are involved, including the role of children and adolescents in decision-making, the limits of parental decision-making authority, and issues related to genetic testing, transplantation, research, and public health. Offered jointly with PEDS 562.
This course examines the moral grounds for the view that social inequalities in health are unjust using contemporary literature from moral philosophy and bioethics, case studies, and film. We explore basic questions integral to determinations of social injustice as well as moral constraints on the pursuit of health equity.
Examines and compares phenomenology, discourse analysis, and grounded theory. Reviews the history of ideas and critically reads examples of published articles to appreciate how each method frames questions and produces different analyses.
This course introduces students to select biotechnology innovations and invites consideration of the ethical and policy implications surrounding their development and potential use.
This course examines the relationship between bioethics and law. Reviews the basic concepts of both disciplines; their theoretical and practical connections. Analysis of principle legal cases and statutes illustrating such issues as informed consent to treatment, foregoing life support, research with human subjects, confidentiality, and allocation of health care resources. Offered jointly with LAW H 503.