Module PHL2035 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2035: Critical Bioethics
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to:
- familiarise you with the history of, and different positions, theories and problems in current bioethics
- familiarise you with ethical issues of genetics, stem cell research and issues of social and cultural identity, through engagement with applied case studies; and
- advance your ability to analyse text, criticize, empirical and philosophical arguments and reflect on your own preferences in making arguments and your ideas of right and wrong.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate knowledge of a range of key topics in bioethics 2. understand different empirical and theoretical perspectives in bioethics 3. appraise forms of argument on ethical issues from different philosophical and sociological perspectives |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. analyse arguments in moral philosophy and social ethics 5. demonstrate the ability to engage with both abstract and practical ethical issues |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. develop the ability to write scholarly well-argued reflective essays 7. construct normative arguments 8. practice different forms of writing 9. practice expressing own thoughts and ideas at different levels of abstraction in discussion and writing 10. Demonstrate the ability to work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following themes:
- History and themes of bioethics
- Abortion
- Bioethics, philosophy and empirical social sciences
- Direct to consumer genetic testing : sex selection
- Genetic engineering
- Global Bioethics
- Prenatal testing
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity | 22 | Weekly 1-hour lecture and 1-hour seminar. Each student will once submit a summary of a reading prior to the seminar. |
| Guided Independent study | 128 | Independent, guided study: Weekly reading (44 hours), preparation of seminar presentation (20 hours), research for the essay (50 hours), preparation for the essay (64 hours). |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contribution to seminar discussions | Continuous | 1, 4, 5, 7, 8 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | 0 | 30 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 70 | 3000 words | 1-10 | Oral and Written |
| Presentation and handout | 30 | 10 minutes and 500 words | 1,3,4,5,6 | Oral and Written |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (3000 words) | 1-10 | August/September reassessment period |
| Presentation and handout | Summary of 1 module reading (1000 words) | 1-10 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer (eds), A Companion to Bioethics, Blackwell Publishing (2001).
Raymond De Vries,Leigh Turner,Kristina Orfali,Charles Bosk (eds), The View From Here: Bioethics and the Social Sciences (Sociology of Health and Illness Monographs). Wiley-Blackwell (2007).
Lisa A. Eckenwiler andFelicia G. Cohn (eds), The Ethics of Bioethics: Mapping the Moral Landscape, Johns, Hopkins University Press (2007).
Jonathan Glover: Choosing Children: Genes, Disability, and Design (Uehiro Series in Practical Ethics), Oxford University Press (2008).
Christine Hauskeller, Steve Sturdy and Richard Tutton (eds), Special Issue Sociology: Genetics and the Sociology of Identity, SAGE (2013).
A Hedgecoe, Critical Bioethics. Beyond the Social Science Critique of Applied Ethics, In Bioethics, 18 (2) 2004, pp. 120-143.
R Hursthouse, Virtue Theory and Abortion, Philosophy & Public Affairs Vol. 20(3), 1991, pp. 223-246
MO Little, Why a feminist approach to Bioethics, Kennedy Institute for Ethics Journal, 1996, 6 (1), pp. 1-18.
S Sherwin, Abortion through a Feminist Ethics Lense, Dialogue, 1991, pp. 372-421.
H. Slim, Humanitarian Ethics. A Guide to the Morality of Aid in War and Disaster, C Hurst & Co, London 2015
ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
