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Bioethics in the Movies

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:9.00
Study Course Accepted:02.02.2024 12:30:37
Study Course Information
Course Code:HZK_046LQF level:All Levels
Credit Points:2.00ECTS:3.00
Branch of Science:Philosophy; EthicsTarget Audience:Medicine
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:Elīna Graudiņa
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfatrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)0Lecture Length (academic hours)0Total Contact Hours of Lectures0
Classes (count)8Class Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Classes16
Total Contact Hours16
Full-Time - Semester No.2
Lectures (count)0Lecture Length (academic hours)0Total Contact Hours of Lectures0
Classes (count)8Class Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Classes16
Total Contact Hours16
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
English language.
Objective:
The aim of the course "Bioethics in the movies" is to introduce some of the most important issues in bioethics via watching movies. This will allow students to learn more about the historical and social context of the issues at stake. The course will cover the following biomedical issues – the problems around defining death, ethical issues in transplantation, ethical issues in enhancing humans by genetic manipulation, moral dilemmas about ending of life. During the course students will watch movies and the topics addressed in the movies will be discussed in practical classes.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.TopicType of ImplementationNumberVenue
1ReproductionClasses2.00auditorium
2Personhood and personal identityClasses2.00auditorium
3Value of human lifeClasses4.00auditorium
4Death and assisted dyingClasses2.00auditorium
5Human enhancementClasses4.00auditorium
6Bioethical issues in the moviesClasses2.00auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
1. Students have to read the reading materials for the discussion seminars. Before every seminar students have to read a dedicated reading material and must be prepared to answer questions about the main concepts, ideas and arguments of that reading material. 2. Before the discussion seminars students write and submit a concise ethical analysis of movies they will discuss in the respective discussion seminars. 3. Students independently prepare for the examination about the course topics. 3. At the end of the course students take course evaluation survey on the e-studies.
Assessment Criteria:
1. Participation in practical classes (10% from the final grade). 2. Written analyses of the seminar movies (40% from the final grade). 3. Exam - a written ethical analysis of a movie (50% from the final grade).
Final Examination (Full-Time):Exam
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:During the course, the students will acquire a deeper understanding of some of the most important issues in the contemporary bioethics.
Skills:Students will be able to analyse and discuss the current issues in bioethics with reference to the historical context of the problems and the way they are perceived in popular culture.
Competencies:Students should be able to analyse, evaluate and criticise different positions in modern biomedicine; they should be able to express and defend their own opinion.
Bibliography
No.Reference
Required Reading
1Mappes, T.A. & DeGrazia, D. Biomedical Ethics. McGraww-Hill, 2011. (akceptējams izdevums)
2Shapshay, S. (ed.) Bioethics at the Movies. John Hopkins. University Press, 2009. (akceptējams izdevums)
3Colt, H. Quadrelli, S. Friedman, L. (eds.) The Picture of Health. Medical Ethics and the Movies. Oxford University Press, 2011. (akceptējams izdevums)
Additional Reading
1Steinbock, B. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Bioethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
2Internet Movie Database
3Picoult, J. My Sister's Keeper. New York: Atria Books, 2005.