PHIL 102

Ethics, Politics, & Law

Distance Delivery

Dr. Jeff Johnson

NEW WITHDRAW POLICY

A student may drop from a course for any reason with no record on the student's transcript before the end of the 4th week of the term. Thereafter, a student must withdraw from the course (see withdrawal policy).

Drop fees will be assessed in accordance with the fee policies stated in the Schedule of Classes.

Withdrawal Policy (effective Winter, 2010):

There are two types of withdrawal - withdrawal from a course and withdrawal from the University.

From a course:

A student may withdraw from the 5th week of the term through the 7th week with a grade of "W" indicated on the transcript.

No withdrawals will be issued after the 7th week of the term. Instructors will issue a letter grade (A-F, or I) for all students enrolled after the 7th week. A student making adequate academic progress during the term and needing to withdraw after the 7th week may request an incomplete from the instructor.

Withdrawal forms [for on campus courses] are available in the Registrar's Office.

Record Video-lectures

Winter Quarter began an experiment that I have been waiting almost two decades to conduct. My teaching style is a very traditional lecture format. I have been using various media to deliver the lectures to my distance students, starting with recorded audio cassettes, to vhs cassettes, to most recently, recorded dvds. Unfortunately the production costs of these dvds began to approach $100 per course. I have convinced my colleagues in Information Technology join me in an experiment to see whether we can successfully embed the video-lectures in Blackboard, and it appears we have been successful! The video-lectures are a required part of this course! You cannot expect to succeed unless you careful study each of the lectures before the examination

This quarter in Ethics, Politics, & Law we will examine a number of important moral, political, and legal controversies in contemporary American society that have been the focus of relatively recent Supreme Court decisions.  Constitutional law can be productively studied through the empirical methods of political science, and the interpretive methods of the moral philosophy and jurisprudence.  Our course will utilize insights from all of these academic perspectives. 

Since the issues we will be examining have proved controversial for scholars and judges, we can hardly expect consensus on any of them within our course.  That, I sincerely believe, is a good thing.  This course is not about discovering the truth, but providing the background and analytical tools to allow you to better understand the controversies, and to more reflectively formulate your own stands on them.  My ambitious goal for this quarter is address the following constitutional topics:

There will be a number of "texts" for this course.   We will read Ronald Dworkin's important book, Life's Dominion, as well as a number of on-line readings -- articles and chapters, as well as Supreme Court decisions.  We will also read some of my own professional articles and conference papers.  Finally we will be utilizing contemporary cinema as a different sort of text for raising moral and legal questions.  For the first eight weeks every Wednesday evening at 6:00 we will be showing a movie that raises an important moral or legal issue.  Students are required to see all of the eight films we will be showing.

UWR Writing Intensive Outcomes:

  1. Students will produce at least 3,000 words (including drafts, in-class writing, informal papers, and polished papers); 1,000 words of this total should be in polished papers which students have revised after receiving feedback and criticism.
  2. Students will be introduced to the discourse forms appropriate to the discipline the course represents.
  3. Students will write at least one paper integrating information from at least one source, employing the appropriate documentation style for the discipline represented by the course.
  4. Students will draft, revise, and edit their formal written work.
    Students will seek assistance from a Writing Tutor in the Writing Lab when needed and when referred by the instructor.

General Education Outcomes:

  1. Learn and use the vocabulary, content, and conceptual knowledge in a variety of disciplines. (CONTENT KNOWLEDGE)
  2. Think clearly, critically, and effectively, taking into consideration purpose, audience, and occasion. (CRITICAL THINKING)
  3. An appreciation for aesthetic expressions of humanity and the ability to analyze texts. (AEH)

Additional Outcomes:

  1. Understand the philosophical and legal controversies concerning personal, legal, and constitutional privacy, race and the constitution, gender and feminist ethics, and the death penalty.
  2. Read philosophical and legal texts critically and with understanding.
  3. Write effectively about philosophical and legal controversies.
  4. Critically view cinema dealing with social issues.
  5. Write effectively about social issues in contemporary cinema

Means of Assessment and Grading:


ACADEMIC HONESTY

I am including below Eastern's Academic Honesty Code.  It is vitally important that you carefully read it, and that you understand that it is my intention to follow this code to the letter.  I really can't think of a better way to ruin your experience with this course, than to disregard this code.  Obviously, if you have any questions, I can't urge you too strongly to ask me.

ACADEMIC HONESTY CODE

All members of the Eastern Oregon University academic community are responsible for compliance with its Academic Honesty Code. Students are required to report violations to the respective faculty member of a course. Provisions of the Academic Honesty Code are:

  1. Collaboration while taking any quizzes, in-class examinations, or take home examinations without the instructor's written approval is forbidden. The faculty member is responsible for defining limits for other collaborative learning activities for each course.
  2. Plagiarism or representation of the work of others as one's own is forbidden. The faculty member will make clear the format for properly citing sources of information not original by the student.
  3. Explicit approval by all instructors is required if the same work is to be submitted to more than one course, even if is not within the same term.

Violations of the Academic Honesty Code may result in both academic and behavioral penalties including possible suspension or expulsion from the University.

An automatic grade of zero for any work which is a violation of the Academic Honesty Code will be assigned by the instructor. The instructor may also assign a grade of F for the course after discussion with the respective School Dean. Students may appeal the course grade to the respective School Dean, who is the final level of appeal on the matter of course grade penalties for academic dishonesty.

The faculty member is also required to file a disciplinary complaint to the Vice President for Student Affairs about any student believed to have violated the Academic Honesty Code. If deemed appropriate, hearing procedures will be implemented by a University Hearing Officer as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct. Possible sanctions considered by the Student Conduct Committee include probation, suspension, and expulsion.

TENTATIVE CALENDAR

WEEK MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
One Class Introduction

Supreme Court

Lecture 2 Griswold v. Connecticut

Griswold

 Lecture 3 Supreme Court & Race

Separate But Equal

Lecture 4 Constitutional Privacy

Johnson 1
Two

Lecture 5 Privacy and Information

Parent

Lecture 6 Privacy and Judgment

Johnson 3 (required) Sections 1-3

Johnson 2 (recommended)

Lecture 7 Brown v. Board of Education

Brown

Separate But Equal

Lecture 8 Privacy and Focused Attention

Johnson 3 (required) Sections 4-6

Three

Lecture 9 Value of Privacy

Johnson 3 (required) Sections 7-9

Johnson 4 (recommended)

Lecture 10 Feminie Voice

Gilligan 1

Gilligan 2

One True Thing

Lecture 11 Privacy and Respect for Persons

Johnson 3 (required) Sections 7-9

Four

First Midtermdue 7/12

Lecture 12 Analytical Paper

Lecture 13 Feminist Conrtractarianism

Hampton

Nine to Five

Lecture 14 Feminist Conrtractarianism

Last day to withdraw without record 7/16

Five

Lecture 15 Gender and Wage Differentials

Lecture 16 Death Penalty

Johnson 5

The Thin Blue Line

 Peer Review please submit draft to On-line Writing Lab 7/22
Six

Lecture 17 "The Edges of Life"

Dworkin Ch 1

Lecture 18 "The Morality of Abortion"

Dworkin Ch 2

Lecture 19 Race, Class, & the Death Penalty

Johnson & Johnson

Dead Man Walking

 

Lecture 20 "The Morality of Abortion"

Dworkin Ch 2

Analytical Paper Due 7/30

Seven

Lecture 21 "What Is Sacred?"

Dworkin Ch 3

Lecture 22 Roe v. Wade

Dworkin Ch 4

Lecture 23 "The Constitutional Drama" & Casey v. Planned Parenthood

Dworkin Chs 5&6

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Dworkin Ch 6

Last day to withdraw with grade of W 8/6

Eight

Second Midterm due 8/9

Lecture 24 Right to Die

Dworkin Ch 7

Lecture 25 Healthcare

John Q

Lecture 26 "Life Past Reason"

Dworkin Ch 8

Nine

Lecture 27

Homosexuality

Lecture 28 Bowers v. Hardwick & Lawrence v. Texas

Lecture 29 Healthcare

Sicko

Lecture 30

Loving v. Virginia

 
Ten

Lecture 31 Moral Case for Homosexual Marriage

Johnson 6

Lecture 32 Legal Case for Homosexual Marriage

The Insider

Final Exam & Movie Portfolio due 8/27