Module PHL3077 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL3077: Bioethics: DNA-technologies, Ethics and Human Identity
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 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;
- advance your ability to analyse texts, 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 in-depth knowledge of a range of key topics in bioethics; 2. understand and apply different empirical and theoretical perspectives in bioethics; 3. critically 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. critically engage with both abstract and practical ethical issues. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. write scholarly, well-argued reflective essays; 7. construct normative arguments; 8. express your own thoughts and ideas at different levels of abstraction in discussion and writing. |
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:
- Self and Identity
- Human Nature
- Genetic engineering
- Designer Babies
- Race
- Transnational adoption
- Genetics in Society
- Biology and Ideology
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 40 min lecture and weekly 80-minute seminar. |
| Guided Independent study | 48 | Weekly reading |
| Guided Independent study | 25 | Preparation of presentation and recording |
| Guided Independent study | 55 | Research for essay |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
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.
Basic reading:
Ahluwalia, P. (2007) ‘Negotiating Identity: Post-colonial Ethics and Transnational Adoption’, Journal of Global Ethics, 3:1, 55-67, DOI: 10.1080/17449620701219881
Nelson, A. (2016). The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome, Boston, Beacon Press, Introduction, pp. 1-27.
Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer (eds), A Companion to Bioethics, Blackwell Publishing (2001).
Lisa A. Eckenwiler and Felicia 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).
Juergen Habermas, The Future of Human Nature, Polity Press (2002).
Christine Hauskeller, Steve Sturdy and Richard Tutton (eds), Special Issue Sociology: Genetics and the Sociology of Identity, SAGE (2013).
Nelkin, D. and Lindee, S. (2004), The DNA Mystique: The Gene as a Cultural Icon, 3rd Edition. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, Chapter 8: Genetic Essentialism Applied
