APPLIED PROJECT

ISS 512: Advanced Integrative Ethics in Social Science – Fall 2020 Session C (8/20 - 12/4) Class Number: 96120 Arizona State University – Polytechnic Campus College of Integrative Sciences and Arts Room: PRLTA 210 Time: W 6:00pm – 8:45pm Instructor: Mike Gifford Office: Santa Catalina Hall 250F Email address: mike.gifford@asu.edu Office Hours: By appointment only (send me an email to schedule an appointment); also available to meet via Zoom. Course Format: In-Person/Sync This course is offered by the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. For more information about the school, visit our website: https://cisa.asu.edu. WARNING: Some students may find some of the material covered in this course troubling or upsetting. Our course deals with current and historic social issues. If you feel that you are in need of an alternative assignment, please email the instructor at mike.gifford@asu.edu. If you have further questions or concerns, please send your inquiry to cisa@asu.edu.

Course Description: In this course we will study the various interactions between ethics and social science, with a focus on the real-world implications of these interactions at the level of policy construction. We begin with a philosophical study of ethical theory and its applications. There will be a particular focus on biomedical ethics. We then move into a consideration of the ways in which ethical concerns are of importance to practitioners of social science. Besides the ethics of social science research, we will also be interested in whether values of various sorts may enter into, or perhaps even be inextricably tied into, social science. Inasmuch as science is often thought of as value-free, there is a special question as to whether a science of the social can maintain freedom from value considerations. There are then questions of what social science may be able to tell us about our ethics, and in particular our meta-ethics. Finally, we tackle social questions related to all that we have covered so far, including issues surrounding the integration of social policy and academic theorizing.

Learning Outcomes: After completion of this course, students should have a basic grasp of the major ethical theories and their applications, along with an understanding of how social science may bear on such theories and vice-versa. Students will emerge from the course with the ability to apply ethical and social-scientific theorizing to real-world policy concerns, as well as the ability to construct an original viewpoint at the intersection of ethics, social science, and social policy. Students will also be competent in effectively presenting their original viewpoints to a wide audience.

Required materials: All required materials will be made available electronically through the Canvas site for our course.

Canvas: Important course material and messages about our course will be delivered via the course’s Canvas page. In addition, crucial assignments will be submitted via Canvas. If you are registered for the course, then the class Canvas page is accessible to you via your MyASU page.

You should familiarize yourself with the Canvas site as soon as possible and seek technical assistance from the University’s computer technology group, if necessary. All ASU campuses have technological resources available to help you. Please keep in mind that I am not responsible for the computer / technical aspects of the course. If you run into any technical issues involving Canvas, you should click on “ASU Canvas Help” under “Tools” on your Canvas home page.

You should be able to chat live with a technician 24/7. If you are having other technical issues associated with ASU, get in touch with the University Technology Office: https://uto.asu.edu/

• A lack of familiarity with Canvas is not an acceptable excuse for missing or late work. • All students are responsible for managing their time with respect to assignments and

planned Canvas outages. Information on scheduled system outages can be found at http://systemstatus.asu.edu/ . A scheduled Canvas outage is not an acceptable excuse for missing or late work. Unscheduled system outages will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Class Rules: You are required to adhere to the following rules in all of your activities as well as in all of your interactions with the instructor and your fellow students in the classroom. Your failure to conform to these rules may result in a lower grade or, depending on the circumstances, your removal from the classroom and potentially the entire course:

• Be respectful of others, including the instructor, especially when they offer views that differ from your own.

• Be open to feedback from the instructor and your fellow class participants. • Provide constructive feedback to other class participants. • The class discussion board should not be treated like the comments section of a

controversial website. The discussion board is not Reddit or Buzzfeed. The goal is NOT to insult each other, but to learn from each other. You are always encouraged to challenge each other to do better work, but this can be done in an encouraging, non-confrontational manner. Your activities on the discussion board should reflect this open-minded attitude.

• Late assignments will be penalized 10 points for each day (24-hour period) they are late. Course Requirements and Grade Breakdown Discussion Leadership and class participation 20% Short papers (one per module) 30% Final seminar paper (including drafts) 40% Pecha Kucha presentation 10% Grading Scale (final grades will be rounded to the nearest natural number): A+ 98% - 100% A 93% - 97% A- 90% - 92% B+ 88% - 89% B 83% - 87% B- 80% - 82% C+ 78% - 79% C 70% - 77% C- Not a grading option at ASU

D 60% - 69% E <60%

Assignment Descriptions

Discussion Leadership/Class Participation (20%): Students are expected to attend class each week or make alternative arrangements for participation. If something comes up and you are unexpectedly unable to attend class, please let me know. Each student is required to help lead the class discussion on chosen days. On these days, you will be expected to have prepared in advance to guide us through your own analysis of the readings for that day. This will involve providing us with an informal presentation of the main ideas presented in the reading as well as your commentary on the main ideas. Your informal presentation will be informally integrated with the class discussion and my own “lecture” material. Each student is required to help lead discussion in this way two times throughout the semester.

Short Papers (30%): By the end of each module, you will be required to submit a short paper of approximately four or five pages (double-spaced) on the topic of your choice related to the module. For the short module papers, I am looking for you to explore your ideas and develop some kind of critique or commentary in light of what we have covered in class. There is not space in this assignment for extensive development, but there is space for fruitful commentary on precise ideas. I will be asking you to give me some idea in advance as to what you intend to write about so that I can make sure you are on the right track. A module paper is a great opportunity to begin to explore ideas which you will develop more fully in your seminar paper. Likewise, class discussion is a great opportunity to begin to explore ideas which you will incorporate into your paper for the module.

Seminar Paper (15%): The seminar paper, approximately 15-20 pages, will be on an approved topic related to our course material and should make use of at least three scholarly resources, not counting assigned course readings. The paper will go through multiple drafts. Part of the assignment requires you to submit a first draft of your paper and to participate in a MANDATORY peer-review session. Then you will revise your paper, taking the comments into account, and submit a second draft. You will receive feedback from me on the second draft. You will then revise again and submit your final draft.

There will be opportunities for exploratory discussion of your proposed topic during class. There will also be a chance to work on your draft during class as part of a writing workshop. Pecha Kucha Presentation (10%): A pecha kucha is a unique form of slideshow presentation in which each slide is displayed for the same amount of time. A standard pecha kucha presentation involves displaying 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Some kind of narration accompanies the slides, whether this narration be given live by a speaker or pre-recorded. For this assignment, you will be creating a pecha kucha involving 10 slides which display for 20 seconds each. Thus, your presentation will be exactly 200 seconds long (3 minutes and 20 seconds). You will be recording the audio so that it is part of the slideshow. We’ll watch the final products in class and discuss them. Your pecha kucha will be a presentation of the ideas contained in your paper. You will need to be in class to discuss your presentation and the presentations of your classmates.

Helpful Resources and Other Information ASU Sync: This course is scheduled as an in-person (face-to-face) course. Due to special circumstances, the instructor will not be in the classroom and will be teaching the course remotely. Students will need to attend remotely on an appropriate device (desktop or laptop computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.). For the remote option, this course uses Sync. ASU Sync is a technology-enhanced approach designed to meet the dynamic needs of the class. During Sync classes, students learn remotely through live class lectures, discussions, study groups, and/or tutoring. You can find out more information about ASU Sync for students here: https://provost.asu.edu/sync/students. To access live sessions of this class, log into your ASU Zoom account, go to MyASU and click the Attend via Sync button next to this class on your schedule. If you cannot physically be on campus due to travel restrictions or personal health concerns, you will be able to attend your classes via ASU Sync during the fall semester. If you will not be on- campus for the fall semester, you are expected to contact your professors to make accommodations. Face Coverings: Everyone is required to wear a face cover while in ASU buildings and community spaces, regardless of distance. Face covers help prevent pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals from inadvertently spreading COVID-19 to others. They are meant to protect others in case you are sick. Students will be required to wear a face cover in the classroom. If you require accommodations due to a disability or health-related concern, please contact the Disability Resource Center. A special message from the ASU Writing Center: The Writing Center helps students at every stage of the writing process and with all types of assignments and genres of writing. Our tutors, who are ASU students, undergo hours of training each semester that provide them with tools and strategies to support students’ writing. The Writing Center operates on a peer-to-peer, collaborative model where students meet one-on-one with a writing tutor in 30-minute appointments. While we typically offer writing tutoring at our centers located across ASU’s campuses, for Fall 2020, we are only offering writing appointments in person at the Tempe center Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. As a result, we are offering additional writing tutoring hours in our Online Center in Arizona time live via Zoom: Monday through Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Sunday: 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Email Correspondence: All email communication for this class must take place through your ASU email account. You should check your ASU email regularly as you will receive important information about this class as well as other essential University updates. You are responsible for reading and responding (if appropriate) to any information communicated via email.

The subject line of all emails should reflect the reason for the message. If your email is especially important, please type “URGENT” in the subject line, followed by the subject of your message. I try to respond to all emails within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me after 24 hours, go ahead and send your message again as it is possible that I missed it or never received it. For help with your email account, visit the University Technology Office webpage. Academic Integrity: Arizona State University and the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts strongly believe in academic integrity; thus cheating and plagiarism is not tolerated. Students must refrain from uploading to any course shell, discussion board, or website used by the course instructor or other course forum, material that is not the student's original work, unless the students first comply with all applicable copyright laws; faculty members reserve the right to delete materials on the grounds of suspected copyright infringement. If a student is charged with academic dishonesty and found to be in violation, disciplinary action will be taken and a student's name will be kept on file. Academic dishonesty includes borrowing ideas without proper citation, copying others’ work (including information posted on the internet), failing to turn in your own work for group projects, as well as providing materials of any type to a homework help site or a study resource site. Disciplinary action may result in a reduced grade for the assignment or class, suspension or expulsion from the university, and/or an XE on his or her transcript. For further information, please read the Student Academic Integrity policy at provost.asu.edu/academic-integrity. Student Code of Conduct: Students are required to adhere to the behavior standards listed in the Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual Chapter V – Campus and Student Affairs: Code of Conduct located online at students.asu.edu/srr/code and the ACD 125: Computer, Internet, and Electronic Communications available at asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd125.html. Students are entitled to receive instruction free from interference by other members of the class. An instructor may withdraw a student from a course when the student’s behavior disrupts the educational process under USI 201-10 asu.edu/aad/manuals/ssm/ssm201-10.html. An instructor may withdraw a student from a course with a mark of “W” or “E” when the student’s behavior disrupts the educational process. Disruptive classroom behavior for this purpose is defined by the instructor. Harassment Prohibited: ASU policy prohibits harassment on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, Vietnam era veteran status, and other protected veteran status. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, including termination of employees or expulsion of students. Contact the professor if you are concerned about online harassment of any kind, and he/she will put you in contact with the Dean of Students office. Title IX: Title IX is a federal law that provides that no person be excluded on the basis of sex from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity. Both Title IX and university policy make clear that sexual violence and harassment based on sex is prohibited. An individual who believes they have been subjected to sexual violence or harassed on the basis of sex can seek support, including

counseling and academic support, from the university. If you or someone you know has been harassed on the basis of sex or sexually assaulted, you can find information and resources at https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/faqs. As a mandated reporter, I am obligated to report any information I become aware of regarding alleged acts of sexual discrimination, including sexual violence and dating violence. ASU Counseling Services, https://eoss.asu.edu/counseling, is available if you wish to discuss any concerns confidentially and privately. ASU online students may access 360 Life Services, https://goto.asuonline.asu.edu/success/online-resources.html. Statement on Inclusion: Arizona State University is deeply committed to positioning itself as one of the great new universities by seeking to build excellence, enhance access and have an impact on our community, state, nation and the world. To do that requires our faculty and staff to reflect the intellectual, ethnic and cultural diversity of our nation and world so that our students learn from the broadest perspectives, and we engage in the advancement of knowledge with the most inclusive understanding possible of the issues we are addressing through our scholarly activities. We recognize that race and gender historically have been markers of diversity in institutions of higher education. However, at ASU, we believe that diversity includes additional categories such as socioeconomic background, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, nationality and intellectual perspective. Establishing a Safe Environment: Learning takes place best when a safe environment is established in the classroom. In accordance with SSM 104-02 of the Student Services Manual, students enrolled in this course have a responsibility to support an environment that nurtures individual and group differences and encourages engaged, honest discussions. The success of the course rests on your ability to create a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable to share and explore ideas. We must also be willing to take risks and ask critical questions. Doing so will effectively contribute to our own and others intellectual and personal growth and development. We welcome disagreements in the spirit of critical academic exchange, but please remember to be respectful of others’ viewpoints, whether you agree with them or not. All incidents and allegations of violent or threatening conduct by an ASU student (whether on- or off-campus) must be reported to the ASU Police Department (ASU PD) and the Office of the Dean of Students. If either office determines that the behavior poses or has posed a serious threat to personal safety or to the welfare of the campus, the student will not be permitted to return to campus or reside in any ASU residence hall until an appropriate threat assessment has been completed and, if necessary, conditions for return are imposed. ASU PD, the Office of the Dean of Students, and other appropriate offices will coordinate the assessment in light of the relevant circumstances. Drop and Add Dates/Withdrawals: Please refer to ASU’s academic calendar (https://students.asu.edu/academic-calendar) for information concerning deadlines to drop/withdraw from this course. Consult with your academic advisor if you are going to drop/withdraw this course. If you are considering a withdrawal, you may want to first review withdrawal policies: https://students.asu.edu/drop-add. Please note that, if you are participating in a Study Abroad program, the ASU Academic Calendar only refers to withdrawal for the academic portion of your program. Please refer to the

Study Abroad Withdrawal Policies for important dates regarding withdrawing from your faculty- directed program. Disability Accommodations for Students: If you need academic accommodations or special consideration of any kind to get the most out of this class, please let me know at the beginning of the course. If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for equal access to education at ASU, please call Disability Resources for Students (DRC). The site can be found here: eoss.asu.edu/drc. Instructors cannot provide accommodations without authorization from the DRC. Downtown Phoenix Campus University Center building, Suite 160 Phone: 602.496.4321 E-mail: DRCDowntown@asu.edu Polytechnic Campus Sutton Hall - Suite 240 Phone: 480.727.1039 E-mail: DRCPoly@asu.edu Tempe Campus Matthews Center building, 1st floor Phone: 480.965.1234 E-mail: DRCTempe@asu.edu West Campus University Center Building, Room 130 Phone:602.543.8145 E-mail: DRCWest@asu.edu Mental Health: As a student, like anyone else, you may experience a range of challenges that can interfere with learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, substance use, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These emotional health concerns or stressful events may diminish your academic performance and/or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. ASU Counseling Services provides counseling and crisis services for students who are experiencing a mental health concern. Any student may call or walk-in to any ASU counseling center for a same day or future appointment to discuss any personal concern. Here is the Web site: eoss.asu.edu/counseling. After office hours and 24/7 ASU's dedicated crisis line is available for crisis consultation by calling 480-921- 1006. Grade Appeals: ASU has formal and informal channels to appeal a grade. If you wish to appeal any grading decisions, please see http://catalog.asu.edu/appeal. Incompletes: A mark of "I" (incomplete) is given by the instructor when you have completed most of the course and are otherwise doing acceptable work but are unable to complete the course because of illness or other conditions beyond your control. You are required to arrange with the instructor for the completion of the course requirements. The arrangement must be recorded on the Request for Grade of Incomplete form (http://students.asu.edu/forms/incomplete-grade-request). Religious Accommodations for Students: In accordance with ACD 304-04 students who need to be absent from class due to the observance of a religious holiday or in order to participate in required religious functions must notify the faculty member in writing as far in advance of the holiday/obligation as possible. Students will need to identify the specific holiday or obligatory

function to the faculty member. Students will not be penalized for missing class due to religious obligations/holiday observance. The student should contact the class instructor to make arrangements for making up tests/assignments within a reasonable time. Missing Classes Due to University-Sanctioned Activities: In compliance with ACD 304-02 students who participate in university-sanctioned activities that require classes to be missed, should be given opportunities to make up examinations and other graded in-class work. However, absence from class or examinations due to university-sanctioned activities does not relieve students from responsibility for any part of the course work required during the period of the absence. The provost of the university or designee shall determine, for the purposes of this policy, whether a particular event qualifies as a university-sanctioned activity. In each college, a specific individual (e.g., dean’s designee) should be responsible for facilitating adherence to this policy. In particular, students who participate in university-sanctioned activities should be given the opportunity to make up examinations or other graded in-class work due to classes missed because of that activity, unless it can be shown that such an accommodation would constitute an unreasonable burden on the instructor. Should disagreement arise over what constitutes such a burden, the instructor and the student should initially contact the academic unit chair or the dean’s designee. The specific activity program coordinator (e.g., assistant athletics director for academic services, director of forensics, director of bands) should, as early as possible, provide the college- designated individual with the class schedule of any student who may be required to miss class because of a university-sanctioned activity. Students should inform their instructors early in the semester of required class absences. Instructors should attempt to provide opportunities for equivalent work, either before or after the class absence, in accordance with any academic unit or college requirements, which may apply. Incomplete grades (I) should not be used unless deemed necessary by the respective faculty. Prohibition of Commercial Note Taking Services: In accordance with ACD 304-06 Commercial Note Taking Services, written permission must be secured from the official instructor of the class in order to sell the instructor's oral communication in the form of notes. Notes must have the note taker’s name as well as the instructor's name, the course number, and the date. Campus Resources: There is clear evidence that students who take advantage of academic support services perform better academically. As an ASU student you have access to many resources on campus. This includes tutoring, academic success coaching, counseling services, financial aid, disability resources, career and internship help and many opportunities to get involved in student clubs and organizations.

• Tutoring: students.asu.edu/academic-success • Counseling Services: students.asu.edu/counseling • Financial Aid: students.asu.edu/financialaid • Disability Resource Center: asu.edu/studentaffairs/ed/drc/ • Major/Career Exploration: uc.asu.edu/majorexploration/assessment • Career Services: students.asu.edu/career

• Student Organizations: asu.edu/studentaffairs/mu/clubs/ • ASU Writing Centers: tutoring.asu.edu/writing-centers • ASU Police Department: cfo.asu.edu/police • International Student Resources: students.asu.edu/international/support/academic

Tentative Course Schedule (subject to change)

Important Dates Sunday, 11/15: First draft of paper due, uploaded to Canvas by 11:59pm. Wednesday, 11/18: Peer-review session in class. Sunday, 11/29: Second draft of paper due, uploaded to Canvas by 11:59pm. Wednesday, 12/2: Pecha Kucha presentation due in class over Sync. Sunday, 12/6: Final draft of paper due, uploaded to Canvas by 11:59pm. Module 1: Ethics, Theoretical and Applied (8/26 – 9/23) Shafer-Landau – Introduction to The Fundamentals of Ethics, 3rd ed. Singer – “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” Thomson – “Killing, Letting Die, and the Trolley Problem” Kant – “The Good Will and the Categorical Imperative” Velleman – “A Right to Self-Termination?” Thomson – “A Defense of Abortion” Marquis – “Why Abortion is Immoral” Aristotle – Selections from the Nicomachean Ethics Calhoun – “The Virtue of Civility” Gensler – “Cultural Relativism” Module 2: Ethics in Social Science and Social Science in Ethics (9/30 – 10/28) Lynch, True to Life: Why Truth Matters, Ch 4: The Truth Hurts Sata – “Exploitation versus ‘Going Back’ to the Field: The Ethics of Doing Participatory Research in India’s Urban Slums” Weber – “The ‘Objectivity’ of Knowledge in Social Science and Social Policy” Putnam – “The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy” Davydova and Sharrock – “The Rise and Fall of the Fact/Value Distinction” Talisse and Aiken – “Kitcher on the Ethics of Inquiry” Potochnik – “The Diverse Aims of Science” Khalifa – “Is Verstehen Scientific Understanding?” Sayer – Selections from Why Things Matter to People: Social Science, Values, and Ethical Life Gewirtz and Cribb – “What to do about values in social research: the case for ethical reflexivity in the sociology of education” Hoffmaster – “Morality and the Social Sciences” Haimes – “What Can the Social Sciences Contribute to the Study of Ethics?” Greene – “The Secret Joke of Kant’s Soul” Berker – “The Normative Insignificance of Neuroscience” Module 4: Ethics, Science, Politics, and Policy (11/4 – 12/2) Wednesday, 11/11: NO CLASS (Veterans Day observed) Manicas, History and Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Ch 10: Capitalism, Science and the University Kitcher – “Science in a Democratic Society”

Kitcher – “The Ends of the Sciences” Brown – “The Political Science of Science Policy” Payne – “Challenges for Research Ethics and Moral Knowledge Construction in the Applied Social Sciences” Fox – “The Evolution of American Bioethics: A Sociological Perspective” Wilson – “What Can History Do for Bioethics?” Salter and Salter – “Bioethics and the Global Moral Economy” Maienschein – “Understanding Embryos in a Changing and Complex World: A Case of Philosophers and Historians Engaging Society”