PHIL 12
Bioethics According to The Simpsons Winter 2019

This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

Active Euthanasia? Okely Dokely! Human cloning? Don’t have a cow, man! Over the past twenty years The Simpsons has included a healthy dose of stinging and sometimes surprisingly illuminating critique of numerous bioethical issues. In this winter study course we will use clips and episodes from the classic animated series as a launch pad for investigating the deeper philosophical concepts and ethical questions involved in a variety of bioethical topics. Good comedy has a way of driving straight to the core of contested issues and painful circumstances, providing a point of entry for students in the class to more serious, academic material. Along the way, the course will also investigate what makes The Simpsons‘s treatment of these bioethical issues *funny*-how its satire plays on common misunderstandings, contradictions and inconsistencies in social policy and individual decisions, and how serious issues drive the comedic effect. During the first portion of the course, the instructor will present selections from The Simpsons that take up several core bioethical issues, paired with related readings from the bioethics literature. In the second portion of the course, the students themselves will identify and present clips pertaining to bioethical issues. The final project for the course will be collaborative in nature: small groups of students will be asked to develop and pitch (to the other class members) a storyline for a Simpsons episode (or portion thereof) that centers on a bioethical topic. Classes will meet two or three afternoons each week, and students will be expected to read a substantial amount of philosophical material in preparation for these meetings. In addition, students will need to spend significant amounts of time outside of class viewing videos and developing their final projects. Evaluation will be based on class participation, one in-class presentation, and the final collaborative project.
The Class: Format: afternoons
Limit: 12
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation: final project
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: preference will be given to students who indicate intellectual seriousness about philosophical bioethics

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