Prof. Courtney Fitzsimmons [email protected] Office Hours: T 12:30-2:50, W 10-11 Or by appointment T/TH 11-12:20 REL-227, Spring 2013 Olin 153 Christian Ethics This course is an introduction to Christian Ethics, both theoretical and applied. In course will engage classical texts (“the cannon”) and the contemporary critique of these texts “from the margins.” Unlike traditional courses in ethics, which follow a historical trajectory, and therefore leave the contemporary critique until the end of the course, this course simultaneously engages the critique alongside the cannon. This will educate students on both central texts in the history of Christian ethics, as well the critique of this cannon from marginalized voices. Students will engage in applied ethics by analyzing contemporary ethical issues through the lens of classic thinkers. Required Texts These texts are available for purchase at the bookstore and on reserve at Penrose. Please use the edition specified. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Third or Fourth edition) Augustine, City of God (Penguin Classics) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship Margaret Farely, Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics Stacey Floyd-Thomas & Miguel de la Torre, Beyond the Pale: Reading Ethics from the Margins Immanuel Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (Wood translation, Yale Press) H. Richard Niebuhr, The Responsible Self: An Essay in Christian Moral Philosophy Plato, Republic (Allan Bloom translation, Basic Books) John Rawls, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement Miguel de la Torre, Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins Course policies Students with disabilities: If you have a disability and need my help in making this course fully accessible to you, please feel free to contact me, either in person or through the Academic Resource Center (527-5213). I’ll be happy to help in whatever way I can. If you suspect you have a learning difference but have not had your suspicions confirmed, the Academic Resource Center can help you to identify that difference and figure out how to adjust your learning style accordingly. The only thing wrong with a learning difference is an inflexible educational system. Inclusive language: Inclusive language is the use of accurate and unbiased gender terminology, and it is required in this course. It’s important for a number of reasons. For one thing, as we will study in this course, language shapes how people think. When religious studies was considered to be the study of the beliefs of man, for instance, people (usually male scholars) tended to study male writers, male believers, male religious leaders, and so on simply because it didn’t occur to them to study women specifically. As a result, they had a less accurate understanding of religion 2 than we have today. “Humanity” and “humans” are gender-inclusive terms; “man” and “men” are not. Non-inclusive language also can be misleading, inaccurate, or vague. Traditional formal English, for example, requires that you use the singular pronoun “he” as a generic pronoun. Thus, you might say that “when a new member is initiated into the secret society, he must undergo several hours of ordeals.” People who read that sentence are left wondering whether “he” includes women or whether this secret society is for men only. The solution? When you use singular generic terms (like “one,” “anyone,” “a person,” etc.), use the combined pronoun “she or he.” Or, for a less awkward sentence, simply use a plural noun (“people,” “initiates,” “members,” etc.), because English has a non-gendered plural pronoun (“they”). This requirement of inclusive language applies to God as well. A central topic of this course is the diverse ways God is conceived of in the twentieth century, and several of these thinkers explicitly or implicitly argue against referring to God as “He.” Other thinkers, however, maintain this tradition. The rule for the class is therefore to only use gendered language for God when directly quoting a thinker. In all other instances, simply use God instead of he and God’s instead of his. I am always happy to help you find more inclusive language for what you want to say – see me in office hours if you’d like assistance with this. Academic dishonesty: Honesty is an integral part of academic learning; any form of cheating expresses gross disrespect for the efforts of your teacher, the hard work of your classmates, and your own privilege in having access to a high-quality education. If you plagiarize an assignment you will fail that assignment, and I will not hesitate to report and pursue incidents of suspected academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and copying others’ assignments. The maximum penalty for academic dishonesty at Whitman is permanent expulsion. This class is an educational safe zone. It welcomes and respects the viewpoints of students of all sexual orientations and genders as well as all races, ethnicities, religions, and abilities. All members of this learning community are expected to treat each other with respect and dignity, and to listen especially carefully to the voices of cultural and social minorities. Course Requirements Participation: Class time will be divided between group discussion and lectures. As such, students are required to attend all classes and actively participate in discussion. Students should come to class having done the reading and have the texts with them. I will be evaluating your participation along four criteria: initiating discussion/questioning the text, use of the text in supporting your points, and drawing connections between the texts within the unit and over the course of the semester. This is a participation heavy class – all students are expected to actively participate in class discussion and small group work. Attendance: Students are required to attend all classes. There are two types of excused absences: planned and unplanned. Planned are absences due to religious observance or athletics (or other college-approved “co-curricular” activity). If you know you will be absent for one of these 3 reasons, please email me by the end of second week. Unplanned are family emergencies and illness. If you must miss class for either of these reasons, you should contact the Dean of Students Office in addition to myself (the Health Center will do this for you). They will communicate to myself and your other professors that you had a legitimate reason for missing class. Because life happens and sometimes we turn our alarms off in our sleep, students are allowed three unexcused absences. More than three unexcused absences will result in an automatic reduction of your attendance/participation grade. The more classes you miss, the lower your grade. Papers: Students will write three 4-5-page papers of their choosing, two in format 1, one in format 2. You will choose from the six papers listed below, however one must be from choices 1-3 and one must be from the choices 4-6. Format 1: Applied Case Study – students will choose a case study from de la Torre and analyze it using a thinker. Format 2: Engaging the critique – students will address a critical essay from Beyond the Pale. A more detailed assignment will be given out in class. All papers are due by 5 pm on Cleo. Paper 1: Plato Due: F 2/15 Paper 2: Augustine. Due: W 2/27 Paper 3: Kant. Due: W 3/27 Paper 4: Bonhoeffer. Due: F 4/5 Paper 5: Niebuhr. Due: F 4/19 Paper 6: Rawls. Due: F 5/3 Midterm exam: There will be an in-class midterm on Matthew - Kant. The midterm will consist of two essay questions. Final Exam: The final for this course will be an oral exam and will cover the material postspring break (Bonhoeffer – Farley). The exams will consist of a discussion of an ethical case study (taken from de la Torre) using the thinkers we have studied. Students will choose the case study for the examination. Final Grade: 20% Attendance/Participation 10% Paper 1 15% Paper 2 15% Paper 3 20% Midterm 20% Final Exam Other Things You Should Know Classroom: I have two general rules for class: be on time and be respectful of your peers. The first is obvious. For the second, argue, debate, be passionate – but don’t interrupt, berate your peers or ignore what they have just said. Other things to keep in mind: o Please remember to turn off your cell phone before class – putting it on vibrate is still having it on – we can all hear it vibrating in your bag. 4 o The point of our classroom time is to discuss the text, and I find that laptops are both distracting and put something in between you and your colleagues. I prefer you not use them, however, they are not prohibited. If you do use a laptop for note taking, please be sure to turn off all alarms, sounds, etc. You should turn off your wireless as well, lest it tempt you to “quickly” check your email during class. o I prefer you use print copies of the texts, however you may use Kindles or Nooks (just the regular versions – if a device can access apps or the internet you may not use it) so long as you have the correct edition of the text. You will need to refer to a print copy when writing papers. Access outside class: When my office door is open, I am available. My office hours are listed on the syllabus and I strongly encourage you to make use of them. I am more than happy to meet with you to discuss the material, your paper or anything else on your mind. If you cannot make my office hours, please email me to make an appointment. Email Policy: I am always available by email, and I will respond to your email within 24 hours or sooner depending on the type of question asked and the response required. Course Schedule Unit 1: Classic Texts T 1/15: Introduction: What makes ethics Christian? TH 1/17: Miguel de la Torre, Doing Christian Ethics at the Margins (CEM), 1-37 T 1/22: The Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 1-14 TH 1/24: The Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 15-28 T 1/29: Plato, Republic, Book IV, 97-125 TH 1/31: Republic, Book VI, 163-192 T 2/5: Plato, Republic, Book VII, 193-220 TH 2/7: Beyond the Pale (BP), “Plato on Reason”, 3-13 CEM, 57-69, 143-147 & “Life & Death”, 183-199 T 2/12: Augustine, City of God, 196, 204-219, 303-313 TH 2/14: Augustine, 852-879 T 2/19: BP, “Augustine on Just War”, 25-32 CEM, 73-83 & “War”, 101-121 TH 2/21: Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Preface & Section 1, 3-21 T 2/26: Kant, Section 2, 22-62 TH 2/28: Kant, Section 3, 63-79 5 T 3/5: BP, “Kant on the Categorical Imperative”, 69-80 CEM, 203-206 & “Affirmative Action”, 226-244 TH 3/7: Midterm (A review session for the midterm will be held in the evening, date TBA) SPRING BREAK Unit 2: Ethics in the 20th Century T 3/26: Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 35-78 TH 3/28: Bonhoeffer, 79-114 & 298-304 T 4/2: BP, “Bonhoeffer on Discipleship”, 137-144 CEM, “Global Poverty”, 84-100 TH 4/4: H. Richard Niebuhr, The Responsible Self, 42-68 T 4/9: NO CLASS (Undergraduate Conference) TH 4/11: Niebuhr, 69-89 &161-178 T 4/16: BP, “H. Richard Niebuhr on Responsibility”, 129-136 CEM, “National Poverty”, 148-168 TH 4/18: Rawls, Justice as Fairness, 1-38 T 4/23: Rawls, 39-52, 57-61 & 135-176 TH 4/25: BP, “John Rawls on Justice”, 145-152 CEM, “Private Property”, 245-261 T 4/30: Farley, Just Love, 1-16 & 174-206 TH 5/2: Farley, 207-244 T 5/7: Farley, 245-311