Towards that end, we will consider various sides of a number of contemporary ethical issues such as abortion, euthanasia, affirmative action, sexual ethics, regulation of harassing speech, animal rights, environmental ethics, and obligations to future generations. Readings will include selections from a variety of contemporary authors. Course requirements will include writing and revising a variety of short papers as well as a longer research paper considering some particular ethical issue of the student's choice. The aim of the assignments will be to teach students how to write in a clear, convincing way about ethical issues and to help clarify the philosophical principles underlying their own ethical positions. There will be several sections of this course.
Most people draw a strong line between religion and magic.
Yet scholars of religion have noticed that magic plays a significant role in the religious worlds not only of indigenous peoples, but also of participants in the major religious traditions. This course will include major sections on magic amongst indigenous peoples, magic in the history of Europe, and the 20th century magical revival in Europe and the Americas. Students will engage this material in a variety of formal and informal writing assignments. The course will be conducted as a writing workshop, with the majority of class time spent in discussion, either in the whole of the class or amongst small peer groups. Where lecture is present, it will primarily communicate composition technique.