Provide your responses to the following topics via a written post, slides, or video of yourself (2-3 minutes max) and post it on this discussion thread.

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 Ethnic Studies/History

Each one of us arrives here (in this Ethnic Studies/History 107 course) with different journeys, goals, support systems (family) and from a diverse number of racial and ethnic backgrounds, so in order for us to begin to create community, we need to get to know each other and that means sharing about ourselves.

Provide your responses to the following topics via a written post, slides, or video of yourself (2-3 minutes max) and post it on this discussion thread:

  • Preferred name and pronouns?
  • How you racially and or ethnically identify yourself?
  • Support system both for you, and by you?
  • How are you? For reals tho.
  • If you are employed, how many hours a week?
  • 2 favorite songs (imagine you could only listen to those 2 songs forever)?
  • Favorite book or poem?
  • Best food you ever had and from where?
  • Favorite sports team if you have one?
  • Favorite movies? Top 3?
  • Superhero you would like to be? Why or why not?
  • What is the motivation behind you are taking this class?

 

What are the personal and/or communal ethical factors that may be involved in determining the moral position of either side in that debate?

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ASSIGNMENT

First, return to your topic chosen in the week three assignment.

Answer this question: What are the personal and/or communal ethical factors that may be involved in determining the moral position of either side in that debate?
Next, articulate and then evaluate the ethical positions using Kantian ethics (that is, the categorical imperative) relative to the long standing debate (that is your topic chosen in the week three assignment).
Finally, create a complete annotated bibliography for 5 academic scholarly sources. You will annotate each source. The sources should be relevant to your topic chosen in the week three assignment.
Include the following:

Publication details
Annotation (a detailed reading of the source)
Each annotation section should include the following:

Summarize key points and identify key terms (using quotation marks, and citing a page in parentheses).
Describe the controversies or “problems” raised by the articles.
State whether you agree or disagree and give reasons.
Locate one or two quotations to be used in the final research project.
Evaluate the ways in which this article is important and has helped you focus your understanding.

What kind of dilemma was this? What did you decide to do? Share your Module 3 SmartArt to help your peers visualize your decision-making process. Comment on your SmartArt: where was it helpful, and where was it limiting?

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Module 3 SmartArt

Write a discussion post in which you answer the following questions in relation to the case study:

What kind of dilemma was this?
What did you decide to do?
Share your Module 3 SmartArt to help your peers visualize your decision-making process.
Comment on your SmartArt: where was it helpful, and where was it limiting?
What changes would you like to make to it?

In your post, use concepts, theories, or philosophers that apply from the readings this week.

What role did respect play in the story? Was it threatened? Did it play a role in the dilemma the character faced, and if so, how? To what degree did the character have autonomy in his or her decision-making?

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Dynamic relationship between respect and autonomy

Autonomy and respect for persons are inseparable concepts in ethics because people deserve to be respected as autonomous decision-makers. In your professional career, you and your clients will count on each other to give and receive respect for each other’s autonomy. In this discussion, you will explore further the dynamic relationship between respect and autonomy by reflecting with your peers on the essay you wrote in Module 3.

Initial Post:
By Thursday of Module 4, share the title and plot summary of the film or television program that you analyzed in your Module 3 “Ethics at the Movies” essay. Which character did you discuss in your essay? Briefly summarize that character’s professional role, their moral dilemma, the decision they made, and the factors involved in the decision.

Next, reflecting on the contributing and detracting factors to autonomy discussed in Meyers Chapter 3, section 3.1.4, consider these questions:

What role did respect play in the story? Was it threatened? Did it play a role in the dilemma the character faced, and if so, how?
To what degree did the character have autonomy in his or her decision-making?
Which “default mode” was involved in the dilemma? Was it a problem of principles? Consequences? Virtues?
Did the character decide based on a single default mode, or did they draw on more than one?
Make sure your post clearly describes the ethical decision your character made.
Refer explicitly to the terms, theories or philosophers when you write.

Write an essay paper about pro life vs pro choice from an ethical standpoint with references and proper citing.

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Pro life vs pro choice

Write an essay paper about pro life vs pro choice from an ethical standpoint with references and proper citing.

Explain what each standard that you have selected means in your own words. Give a concrete example of how this standard might be applied in social work practice.

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Social work ethics paper

Students should select three specific ethical standards in the NASW Code of Ethics. Clearly identify the standard by title and number. Give a brief explanation of the standard. Copying the exact wording doesn’t earn you much except to make clear what you are looking at.
Explain what each standard that you have selected means in your own words. Give a concrete example of how this standard might be applied in social work practice.
The paper should be professionally written using APA guidelines, references, and citations. Yes, this does include appropriate syntax, grammar, organization and clarity of meaning.

An action is right if it conforms to a model set of attributes inherent in a particular community. Virtues-based ethics looks at the overall character that is considered desirable by a community. It then asks, ‘what would the virtuous person do?’

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Week 1 Forum: Three, Two, One Response about Bioethics

Background Reading: Ethical Perspectives and Theories How Does Ethics Differ from Morals and Values?

The terms values, morals, and ethics are often used interchangeably. However, there are some distinctions between these terms that are helpful to make.

• Values signify what is important and worthwhile. They serve as the basis for moral codes and ethical reflection. All individuals have their own values based on many aspects including: family, religion, peers, culture, race, social background, gender, etc. Values guide individuals, professions, communities, and institutions. One expression of values might be that `Life is sacred.’

• Morals are codes of conduct governing behavior. They are an expression of values reflected in actions and practices. Morals can be held at an individual or communal level. For example, ‘One should not kill’ provides a guideline for action based upon values.

• Ethics provides a systematic, rational way to work through dilemmas and to determine the best course of action in the face of conflicting choices. Ethics attempts to find and describe what people believe is right and wrong, and to establish whether certain actions are actually right or wrong based on the all the information available. For example, ethics might address a question such as ‘If killing is wrong, can one justify the death penalty or kill in self-defense?’

What Are Some Different Ethical Perspectives?
Ethicists defend their positions by using different ethical perspectives and theories. Five of the major perspectives are described here.

• Moral Rules An action is right if it follows certain fundamental moral rules. In Rules-based perspectives, the important feature is that an action itself should be considered, not what happens as a result of that action. This theory emphasizes moral duties and obligations as well as moral rights. Examples of commonly used rules are not to treat people as only a ‘means to an end’ and to ‘treat others as you would like to be treated yourself’. Someone arguing from a rules-based perspective might say that his or her moral rule or duty is to ‘always avoid killing’.

• Virtues An action is right if it conforms to a model set of attributes inherent in a particular community. Virtues-based ethics looks at the overall character that is considered desirable by a community. It then asks, ‘what would the virtuous person do?’

Discuss the evolution of the ethical concept. Critically elaborate the theories of ethics as discussed by the author. Evaluate on how ethics is related with social responsibility with references .

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 Ethics and Social Responsibility

Read the article entitled “Ethics and Social Responsibility in Justice Decision Making”, José Poças Rascão

  1. Discuss the evolution of the ethical concept. Critically elaborate the theories of ethics as discussed by the author. (800 words)
  2. Evaluate on how ethics is related with social responsibility with references . (500 words)

 

Apply ONE of the following moral theories to your example: Utilitarianism, Deontology, or Virtue Ethics. Explain how applying this theory helped you ethically solve your dilemma.

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Bioethics

Task 1: Construct an argument using the following structure:

  • Premise 1
  • Premise 2
  • Conclusion

Note that you will not have to structure your arguments this way in the future (this is moderately formal and I will accept arguments written in prose so long as your conclusion is clear). However, I want to make sure that you understand how to make a very basic argument. Don’t overthink this – just make sure the conclusion follows from your premises (and, do not use a example straight out of the book).

Task 2: Give an example from your own life or from your imagination of an ethical dilemma, but do not give the actual or imagined resolution of the dilemma. Be brief yet informative.

Task 3: Apply ONE of the following moral theories to your example: Utilitarianism, Deontology, or Virtue Ethics. Explain how applying this theory helped you ethically solve your dilemma.

Here I want to see that you have a good understanding of the theory you chose, so be sure that your explanation convinces me that you’ve taken the time to think through how it applies to your example. Remember, you do not need to report the actual resolution of this dilemma, only the resolution you came to by applying one of the theories above.

300 – 600 words total

What are the basic issues and main themes addressed in the videos? Were the issues addressed from a biased or unbiased perspective? Were the presenters operating with an underlying agenda?

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Applying Ethics – Issues of Gender, the Sex Industry, and Human Trafficking

View at least two of the following videos related to the sex industry or human trafficking. Alternatively, select videos/documentaries of your choice that are related to the topic.

  • Gender | The Space Between (YouTube|1:00:09)Links to an external site.
    • This CBS news report explains how, over the past several years, transgender narratives have populated countless headlines and TV sets. The world watched as Caitlyn Jenner transitioned, “Transparent” swept the Emmy Awards, and a Virginia boy’s case to use the men’s bathrooms at his school is headed to the Supreme Course. Yet, in all that conversation, there is a type of transgender person you will never hear about. They are known as non-binary. They use the pronouns they/them as a form of identification. “They” do not identify with being male or female. Rather, these individuals often choose to reject gender completely or fluctuate between masculinity and femininity on a day-to-day basis. As a result, no one non-binary person is like the next. View their stories in this video.
  • Is Anatomy Destiny? (TED|18:32)(Links to an external site.)
    • In this talk, Alice Dreger asks this question, “Why do we let our anatomy determine our fate?” Alice Dreger works with people at the edge of anatomy, such as conjoined twins and intersexed people. In her observation, it’s often a fuzzy line between male and female, among other distinctions.
  • The Ethical Stripper | Stacey Clare | TEDxCoventGardenWomen (YouTube|15:06)Links to an external site.
    • This video will challenge your presumptions, stereotypes, and convictions with Stacey Clare as she raises important questions at the intersection of feminism, workers’ rights, objectification, and sex work.
  • Sex Worker – The Truth Behind The Smile | Antoinette Welch | TEDxAntioch (YouTube|15:10) Links to an external site.
    • In this TED Talk, Antoinette Welch, former ADA in Nashville, TN, who won a landmark case under enhanced sex trafficking law, identifies and tackles the issues with the unequal societal perception of prostitution, how those views leave women drowning in the cycle of prostitution, and how the Hannah Project levels the playing field for those who want and need help to get out of the vicious cycle.
  • What Do Sex Workers Want? | Juno Mac | TEDxEastEnd (YouTube|18:01)Links to an external site.
    • Everyone has an opinion about sex work, but what does sex worker Juno Mac think? In this TED Talk, Juno takes us through four different legal models addressing the sex industry and explains why they and sex workers around the world believe decriminalization and self-determination are the only way to keep sex workers safe. An activist with the Sex Work Open University, Juno campaigns for better working conditions by fighting criminalization and is involved with public education projects around issues relating to sex workers’ rights.
  • Someone You Love Could Be a Sex Worker  | Valerie Scott | TEDxToronto (YouTube|17:04)Links to an external site.
    • In this TEDx Talk, sex worker, and advocate, Valerie Scott discusses how she always wanted to be a sex worker and expresses her extensive experience in the profession. She is a founding member and legal coordinator of Sex Professionals of Canada, a sex worker rights organization. She has been a passionate advocate for her colleagues’ human, civil, and legal rights for the past thirty years. She has testified at Canada’s Senate and at several Parliamentary committees. She has spoken at numerous community meetings, colleges, universities, and conferences about the humanity of sex workers and the need for full decriminalization of adult sex work.
  • Sex Trafficking Isn’t What You Think It Is | Meghan Sobel | TEDxMileHighWomen (YouTube|13:39)Links to an external site.
    • Professor Meghan Sobel defines sex trafficking as not how Hollywood expresses it to be. Professor Sobel explains, “When I first started studying sex trafficking in 2008, I thought it meant girls were kidnapped and chained to beds.” In this TEDx Talk, she homes in on the true identity of sex trafficking. She believes that in order to combat sex trafficking, we must first understand what it truly is.
  • Sex Trafficking | Linda Smith | TEDxPortland (YouTube|17:51)Links to an external site.
    • “No girl wakes up and looks in the mirror and says I want to be a prostitute.” Linda Smith is a saint with relentless determination, professionalism, and poise. She has dedicated her life to the issue of sex trafficking. She literally saves lives and seeks justice for those who cannot defend themselves through policy change, awareness, and activism. To alter the course of human rights, Linda Smith explains that we must change our perception, language, laws, and response in an effort to stop this criminal offense.
  • Trafficking: Seeking Solutions to a Hidden Crime | Markella Papadouli | TEDxVilnius (YouTube|18:22)Links to an external site.
    • Trafficking can happen to anyone, and in ways one would not find obvious. It’s not just the girl working in a brothel in the Red Light District and neither just the boy locked up in a makeshift cannabis factory. Victims of trafficking can remain hidden in the most obvious places. In her talk, Markella Papadouli offers solutions to this organized, systemic, and hidden crime.

Essay 

Thoughtfully reflect on the issues discussed in the talks that you have watched. If you have chosen an alternative video to those on the list, please thoroughly identify the video.

In your essay, please address the following questions: 

  • What are the basic issues and main themes addressed in the videos?
  • Were the issues addressed from a biased or unbiased perspective? Were the presenters operating with an underlying agenda?
  • Was there agreement or disagreement among presenters regarding the main issues addressed?
  • What were the major moral/ethical issues related to these topics?
  • How do the ethical perspectives of subjectivism, relativism, and/or emotivism relate to this topic?

Your document should be between 300-500 words in length. Any references to support your work must be cited in the most current APA format.