Life and Death Decisions

Professor: Sheldon Ekland-Olson

Offices: CLA 3.614
Office Hours: TTH 2:00-3:30 and by appointment

TA Office Hours:
Andrew Krebs: Mondays, 1:00pm 3:00pm
Office Location: CLA 3
rd
Floor Cubicle #2

Michelle Mott: Tuesday and Thursday from 1:45-2:45pm.
Office Location: CLA 3
rd
Floor Cubicle #19.

Megan Neely: Thursdays 1-3pm (and by appointment)
Office Location: CLA 3
rd
Floor Cubicle #20

Adrian Popan: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-3
Office Location: CLA 3
rd
Floor Cubicle #45

Luis Romero: Thursdays from 1:30-3:30
Office Location: CLA 3
rd
Floor Cubicle #26.

Connor Sheehan: Tuesday/Thursday 2-3
Office Location: CLA 2.622L


Welcome to class.
Here is the question before us: How do we collectively, through our laws, religion,
and customs go about justifying actions universally thought to be wrong?
All human societies have moral frameworks. These frameworks are embedded in
culture, religion, and law. There is very little, if any, disagreement on this. Moral
imperatives compel us, as moral beings, to certain lines of action. Many have
asked whether, across all moral systems, there are common imperatives. If present,
they would apply to the human condition and community across time, place, and
life circumstances. No exceptions. There is far more disagreement on this question.

Two imperatives will occupy our attention:
1) Life is sacred and should be protected.
2) Suffering, once detected, should be alleviated.
We will explore circumstances when these, perhaps universal, moral imperatives
are violated and most importantly how we go about justifying the violation, while
holding tightly to the importance of the imperative.

Two mechanisms leading to justification of violations will be explored.
1) Resolution of moral dilemmas
2) Establishing boundaries of social worth
The class is organized as follows:
I. Initial positions and grounding ideas
II. A Troubling Logic of Exclusion
III. An Evolving Moral Framework
IV. The Abortion Wars
V. Neonatal Care
VI. Is There a Right to Die?
VII. Capital Punishment
VIII. War and Torture
Obviously, these issues involve emotion- and value-laden questions. We are
striving to improve how, not what, you think. If there is an overall goal of the
class, it is to identify common threads that run through all the issues addressed.
Not easy, but interesting.

The Text for the course is: Life and Death Decisions, by Sheldon Ekland-Olson.
1. Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Life-Death-Decisions-Contemporary-
Sociological/dp/0415662923/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1357220802&sr=8-
5&keywords=ekland+olson
2. Routledge: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415662925/
3. The Co-Op
BE SURE TO ORDER THE PAPERBACK.
Additional course materials will be posted on Black Board throughout the
semester.

CLICKERS: Extensive use will be made of what have come to be called clickers.
These will be used to assess the overall opinion of the class, before and after our
discussions. They will be used to see if you have grasped the major points of this
or that legal case or assigned reading. They will be used at the beginning of class to
see how your weekend was. They will be used to see if you are attending class.
You should purchase your I-clicker before the second day of class. They are
available in the Co-Op.

EVALUATION: There will be two exams during the semester as well as a final
exam. In addition, there will be DISCUSSION BOARD assignments. These
assignments will be explained in class. Your involvement in these Discussion
Board assignments will be a major portion of your class participation grade.
Grade: 75% from exams (equally weighted, so each of the three exams counts
25%) and 25% from class participation (attendance and Discussion Board
Assignments.)

ATTENDANCE: Attendance is considered very important for the success of this
class. My belief is that much is learned in class and related discussions. We all
know you can choose to skip class. If you decide to miss class, well, I will be
disappointed in you. Unfortunately, my disappointment, though real, is not all there
is. Your grade will suffer. If your schedule calls for you to miss more than four
classes, you should probably drop the course. More than four absences will reduce
your grade one full grade point (e.g., from an A to a B). Each subsequent absence
will mean an additional grade point. I know this is nasty, but so am I.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
If you are a student with a disability affecting your exam performance, see:
http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/accomod_services.php#exam_accom,
Accommodations will be made.

Cheating: I have a no tolerance policy. If you decide to cheat, you should be
ashamed. If you are caught cheating, you will receive an F.

University and my policy is to respect religious holidays. It is your responsibility
to let me know at least a week ahead of time if you have a conflict.
Cell phones and computers: Texting, tweeting, surfing, and game playing in class
are so far out of bounds I hate to even mention it -- But I will. Don't do it! I will
allow you to use computers in class for note taking. If one member of the class is
found to be TTSGPing this will be revoked. Don't be responsible for putting limits
on other students. Turn off your cell phones in class. If yours rings, I will answer
the call for you. It will be fun, but it will also be embarrassing.

FOR CAMPUS EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
SEE: http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ and www.utexas.edu/emergency

OK, with the details attended to..... I look forward to a lively semester.