2012-2013 Academic Year Calendar - Marianopolis

General Education: HumanitiesEthics345-LPH-MS (3-0-3) 2 credits- 3 hours of class- 3 hours of homeworkThese humanities courses examinesocial and ethical questions.Ethics in Antiquity: Right andWrong in the Ancient WorldFrom slavery to infanticide, sociallyacceptable practices in the ancientGreek world are repugnant to mostWesterners today. Yet, at the sametime, this civilization developed complexand very modern ideas about therole and importance of the individual,the state, responsible leadership,health and the best way to lead one'slife. In this course, students will usetranslations of different ancient texts,including comedies, legal codes, roadsigns, tombstones, medical andphilosophical treatises, and epicpoetry to examine the fundamentalquestions: why are we here? what areour obligations to others? how shouldwe best live our lives?Virtuous BodiesThe course considers how religionsuse the body to translate experienceand knowledge, both for the individualand the collective. Students examinethe role the body plays in a number ofreligious contexts, consider varioustaboos and restrictions (such as thosesurrounding menstruation and childbirth),the various markings on thebody used to identify the person withreligion (through clothing and physicalmarks), and the controversial andvery challenging concept of hurting oreven sacrificing the body for an ideal.These concepts are analyzed in anethical frame-work. This coursewill narrow its focus by lookingexclusively at eastern traditions.Parallels to western traditions willnaturally emerge, but the focus willremain on Hinduism and Buddhism asthey are practiced in various countries.The Da Vinci Code: Fact andFiction in Popular CultureUsing the Da Vinci Codephenomenon as a test case, thiscourse guides students towardsbecoming critical consumers ofpopular culture, learning to recognizeand appreciate the often blurry linebetween fact and fiction. Dan Brown'sclaims of art historical and religious'facts' in his novel are exploredthrough a detailed study of Leonardoand specific theological issues. Theethical questions raised by the author'sclaims and the marketing of his bookare also discussed, as well as thereaction of the media which oftenembraced Brown's assertions, sometimespromoting sensationalism at theexpense of verifiable research.Individual Ethics, GrandConspiracies and Half TruthsMaking ethical decisions is a processthat depends on having complete andaccurate information about the issuesat hand. When information iswithheld, altered, or fabricated, theprocess becomes much more difficult.We are left in a position where ethicaldecisions are impossible to make. Weare forced to seek more information.The challenge lies in determiningwhat, from among available information,is accurate and relevant. Thiscourse considers the problem ofmaking personal ethical decisionsin the face of the flood of (oftencontradictory) information providedby governments on one hand and bythe critics on the other. The coursecovers a range of events that providematerial for spin-doctors andconspiracy theorists alike, with an eyealways on the ways the informationavailable from both sides impacts onindividuals. We will ask whether ourpersonal responses to life’s issues areinfluenced more by those who claimto have our best interests at heart orthose who claim to offer the truth.Gender in a Globalized WorldThis course is about changing aspectsof gender today. Students areintroduced to gender basics and anhistorically contextualizedunderstanding of globalization. Theyread, discuss and debate ethical issuesrelated to topics such as outsourcingand its impact on local communities,sex work, beauty ideals, warsostensibly to spread democracy andwomen’s equality, secularism andfundamentalism, how the genderednature of work is being transformed,sexual orientation and identity,trafficking and surrogate motherhood.Facing the FutureThis course explores the ethicalimplications of a selection oftechnological advances promisedfor the future. In particular, studentsexamine how innovations in genetics,virtual reality entertainment, artificialintelligence, robotics and bioengineeringmay prompt us to rethinkour traditional understandings ofreality, the mind, and the body. Theseinnovations may even announce a“post-human” era in which ourpresent ethical intuitions concerninghuman nature are challenged.National Identity and Ethical Issuesin North American HistoryThis course examines ethical issuesthat arose in the United States ofAmerica and Canada, from the 17thcentury to the present, generated by43