Begins June 26
Meets MTWHF 10:45 am to 1:15 pm in MacLean 171

Last Day: July 24

Theodore Gracyk 

Office: Bridges 359B     Office: (218) 477-4089           
Summer Office hours: by appointment.

Principal Objectives of this course:

1. Students will understand differences between major normative theories. 

2. Students will understand core concepts of ethical analysis. 

3. Students will apply normative theories to cases and demonstrate understanding of how different theories generate competing solutions. 

4. Students will write essays defending personal decisions in complex moral situations. 

5. Students will think and write critically about moral problems.

• Ethics for Professions, Edited by John Rowan and Samuel Zinaich, Jr (Thomson-Wadsworth, 2003)

Learning Outcomes for Dragon Core (DC 9: Ethical and Civic Responsibility)

This is an "outer cluster" course. It extends the writing and critical/multicultural thinking components of the "foundation four" and the "middle cluster" areas 5, 6, and 7.

As a result of taking this course, students will:

• Understand core ethical concepts including right, wrong, duty, virtue, vice, care, harm, and respect and use them to articulate their own ethical views
• Explain the grounds of their ethical and civic commitments and respond constructively to those whose beliefs differ.
• Make responsible personal, professional, and civic decisions and evaluate how these affect other people.
• Understand core concepts of self-government including rights, duties, public and private goods, pluralism, minority rights, and majority rule and apply them to issues that affect the community and their own daily lives.

This is a Writing Intensive Course. 

The quality of your formal writing will affect your course grade. Most of your course grade is based on three formal essays that you write. The first of these three will be submitted as a two-page draft and will be submitted to the instructor for comments before it is completed.

The course combines informal writing (short pieces of writing produced during class sessions), integrative formal writing in which you will explain, integrate, and evaluate material covered in the assigned readings (three essays), and one "informal" essay (a final exam). 

Taken together, the integrative formal writing must be at least a minimum of 16 pages (4800 words).

Robert Hughes, one of the most articulate and important art critics of recent years, has said this about the process of writing: “My main impulse for writing a book was to force myself to find out about things I didn't know. … Otherwise, why do it at all?” This point encapsulates my goals for having you write. Writing is a mode of exploration. There is no reason to write except to find out things you did not already know, including things about yourself, such as your own position on controversial topics. 

Writing Intensive Outcomes

• You will use a coherent writing process including invention, organization, drafting, revising, and editing to form an effective final written product. To do this, the course will combine informal and formal writing. Informal writing will be used to formulate ideas that will be important in formal writing. The first paper will require submitting a draft.
• You will consult effectively and appropriately with others to produce quality written products. To do this, the first paper will require submitting a draft.
• You will read, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and integrate appropriately and ethically both information and ideas from diverse sources or points of view in their writing. To do this, you will write essays, quizzes, and a final exam. Each will require you to integrate material from multiple sources (e.g., different books plus material presented in class).
• You will create logical, engaging, effective written products appropriate for specific audiences and purposes. Students will be provided with a rubric that clarifies this expectation.
• You will use correct grammar and mechanics in writing. Essays will not be graded unless they satisfy reasonably high standards, spelled out in the assignments.

Formatting 

All versions of all the formal writing must conform to basic format rules. 

• They must be typed and double-spaced with a minimum length as specified in the assignment. 

• Margins of an inch on the top and bottom and on the left and right sides of the page are standard. (Margins of an inch and a quarter on the sides are acceptable.) 

• Twelve point fonts are standard. Times New Roman is a standard font style, as are Helvetica and Arial. A standard 12 point font will give you at least 300 words per page.

• The essay must have a cover page. Put your name on the cover page. Do not put your name anywhere else on the essay. 

• Page numbers must be on the pages. Do not put a page number on the cover page.

• If you do not know how to start page numbers on the second page of a document, make your cover page a separate document so that you don't disrupt the page numbering of the remainder.

Bibliography Page

• If you quote from any source, you must attach a bibliography of all sources. 
  To be perfectly clear: I recently FAILED a student paper because it did not put the following short phrase into quotation marks and it failed to provide a bibliographic reference: "premature death is by no means a great harm."

• The bibliography page does not count toward your minimum page total.

• If you incorporate ideas from any source other than class lecture or the assigned readings,  you must attach a bibliography of all sources. (Notice that this applies to ideas, not just actual words taken from a source.) This page does not count toward your minimum page total. 

Carefully proofread your papers. For the final versions of assigned papers, I will accept no more than a total sum of three grammatical errors, typos and spelling errors per page. If you exceed this number, I will return the paper to you at our next class meeting. It must then be handed in, “cleaned up,” no later than the next scheduled class meeting. Such papers will count as one day late. (Notice that if you fail to attend the class session in which I return the papers and your paper needs rewriting to meet the minimum mechanical standards, you do not receive any kind of special extension.)

If I return a paper to you to be “cleaned up” because there are format or grammar problems, and if it is not re-submitted at the next class meeting, it will receive an additional grade reduction for each school day that it is not returned to me. A paper that is not “cleaned up” by the time of the final exam receives a grade of F.

If I return a paper to you because it is too short, you must expand it and resubmit it at the next scheduled class session. Such papers will count as one day late. If it is not re-submitted at the next class meeting, it will receive an additional grade reduction for each school day that it is not returned to me. (Notice that if you fail to attend the class session in which I return the papers and your paper needs rewriting to meet the minimum mechanical standards, you do not receive any kind of special extension.) Failure to resubmit such a paper by the time of the final exam will result in a failing grade for the course.

If you are worried about your ability to write a paper without making excessive errors, you should bring a draft to the instructor during scheduled office hours. (If you cannot meet with the instructor during those hours, an appointment can be made for another time.)  OR visit the "ARO"! Tutors are available.

For more information, see http://www.mnstate.edu/write/ or call 218-477-5937.

Paper Topics 

For each of the three papers, you must cover the following:

• Develop your own thesis, addressing the assigned topic.
• Identify a source of controversy.
• Identify at least one competing perspective that generates this controversy. (Explain how someone might have a principled disagreement with you about what is ethical in this situation.)
• You will critique at least one competing perspective to your own position.
• You will defend your own thesis on this topic by providing relevant reasons in favor of your thesis. (Reasons must include discussion of examples.) 
• Completely fill five pages using 12 point type and standard margins.

THIS IS NOT A RESEARCH PAPER. 

THERE IS SIMPLY NO REASON TO DO ANY ADDITIONAL RESEARCH for this paper. If you use any additional sources, you must provide a complete bibliography of those sources. The bibliography does not count toward the word/page count for the paper. (Exceptions to the bibliography rule: You are always free to consult the assigned readings for this course, dictionaries, writing guides, grammar books, etc.).

BY DOING THIS, YOU’LL DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU:

• correctly comprehend the issues involved.
• can reconstruct the thinking of others.
• can clearly articulate your ideas and present them in an organized way.
• can critically evaluate what others think.
• can use correct grammar and mechanics in writing.
• can argue persuasively in support of a thesis.

DUE DATES for the Four Formal Papers

• 3-page draft of 1st paper due: July 2
  TOPIC: Conflict of interest
  Rewrite due (5 pages minimum length): Date to be announced (Attach original!)
• 2nd paper (minimum length 5 pages) due: To be announced
• 3rd paper (minimum length 5 pages) due: To be announced

For a fuller account of my writing expectations, see my "Expectations about Essays" page.

EXPECTATIONS ABOUT STUDENT WORK 

This is an upper level course. I will enforce the University's policies on student conduct. I expect all essays to conform to recognized standards of presentation, originality, and documentation of sources. 

Any violation of the University's policies on student conduct will result in a failing grade for the course.

The University expects all students to represent themselves in an honest fashion. In academic work, students are expected to present original ideas and to give credit to the ideas of others. The value of a college degree depends on the integrity of the work completed by the student. For more information, click here. 

You are strongly urged to ask questions whenever you feel the need.  
Remember that there are no stupid questions, merely unprepared professors.

GRADING: Your final course grade will be calculated using the +/- system.  

20%     Informal writing (you will do informal writing in class at least 10 times) 

20%     Final Exam (in-class essay -- informal writing)

60%      Three papers  (5 or more pages each)  -- each one is 20% of total grade
            The first paper will first be submitted as a 3 page draft

Failure to submit any of the formal writing (the four integrative formal papers) will result in a failing grade for this course.

READING ASSIGNMENTS  

All readings are in the assigned textbook. (These assignments are subject to change) 

Read the assigned texts before class on the day indicated. Come to class prepared to do informal writing about any of the assigned readings.

The final exam will be an in-class exam. You will see the questions in advance. You will be allowed access to limited notes (whatever you can fit on one sheet of standard paper). It is not cumulative.

The Minnesota State University of Moorhead is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in education and employment and welcomes students with disabilities. We are prepared to to offer you a range of services to accommodate your needs.

However, students must accept responsibility for initiating the request for services. 

Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 477-2131 (Voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 114 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Do not discuss your needs with me, your instructor. Talk to Greg and he will contact me.

This page last updated June 4, 2009