Spring Course Offerings

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This spring, the Ethics Lab team will be offering three courses—Introduction to Bioethics; Social Media & Democracy; and Design Justice—which embody the Lab’s mission to prepare students for moral leadership. Below are more details on each class, along with course registration numbers (CRNs) for students interested in registering.

Bioethics (PHIL-105)

Taught by: Ethics Lab Postdoctoral Fellow Marcello Antosh

This course introduces students to contemporary philosophical issues in bioethics, a subject focused on ethical issues in healthcare, health policy, medical practice, medical and scientific research, and more. This semester, the class will discuss key issues including disability, addiction, race in relation to medicine and medical treatment, mortality, and genetic engineering. Students will use ethical concepts and normative theory to analyze and evaluate cases, to understand, articulate, and defend philosophically and ethically sound positions, and to engage with opposing views.

Class meets Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:00 am - 12:15 pm

Course Registration Number (CRN): 38239

Social Media & Democracy (PHIL-110)

Taught by: Ethics Lab Postdoctoral Fellow Alicia Patterson

Social Media and Democracy examines questions of truth, democracy, and politics in the age of social media by drawing on contemporary case studies and philosophical tools from ethics, political philosophy, and epistemology. The course will focus on modern political discourse, particularly in social media spaces, looking at potential sources of division and epistemic injustice (including content moderation, Section 230, filter bubbles, and shadow banning) and their impact on our democracy. Students will discuss barriers to entry into political dialogue and analyze the current political environment through the lens of social media.

Class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm

CRN: 40447

Design Justice (IDST-104)

Taught by: Ethics Lab Designers Jonathan Healey and Sydney Luken

Design Justice is a 1-credit course offered by the Design faculty of Georgetown University's Ethics Lab. Together we’ll explore how norms and values are present in seemingly value-neutral products and systems, and introduce Design approaches for reimagining more equitable alternatives. This course follows a “virtual studio” model, in which core content and exercises are shared online for asynchronous engagement, supplemented with synchronous online sessions for discussion and small-group critiques focused on developing students' craft. Students will gain experience working with visual design techniques and be introduced to the Design Justice framework, which is adaptable to collaborative work across disciplines.

Class meets Tuesdays, 6:00 pm - 6:50 pm

CRN: 41047