REL455: Global Ethics

Terrorism, wars, genocide, refugee crises, economic disparities, economic exploitation, propaganda including "fake news," drug resistant pathogens, natural disasters, global warming, and so on - what kind of world do we live in? What kind of world ought we live in? How can we move from what is to what ought to be our world? These are the basic questions of global ethics. With consideration for a range of ethical theories, students study current global events in order to better understand why the world is the way that it is and what can be done about it. The course includes readings in anthropology, sociology, political theory, philosophy and the sciences, and it makes use of current news sources, investigative journalism, documentary and feature films, and new media. The course culminates with student projects on any topic concerning the world as it is and might be - or what we can do to get there.