Responsibility

Ethical Reasoning, Greater Understanding

Courses in the Responsibility category give students the opportunity to develop skills in ethical reasoning, while building a greater understanding of their personal responsibilities and their roles as citizens.

This category aims to enable students to move beyond ideological reactions to questions, and instead form a careful normative judgment. It does not aim to instill a particular moral code in students, but to help them develop the habits of reasoning based on consistent principles, and judging based on evidence and logic, which they will need as citizens in charge of creating our shared world.

Responsibility Course Listing

BUSINESS 3159 Ethics of Global Leadership

3 hrs. This course provides students the opportunity to critically analyze the origins and consequences of one’s own personal values as well as apply ethical reasoning to important issues facing society. Students will experience first-hand the values held by others and analyze how these compare with their own. These cross-cultural experiences will emphasize the process of inquiry and analysis to assist students in developing the reasoning skills to ethically address important, complex issues with the global community.

CHEM 1012 Matter Matters

3 hrs. All the matter around us is made of atoms, and we are constantly making choices about how we use and interact with the chemical aspects of our world. Many ethical questions accompany these choices. This course explores how the scientific method advances knowledge, informs individual and societal decisions, and enables students to understand the importance of chemistry in their everyday lives.

COMM 3236 Ethics in Communication

3 hrs. Exploration of ethical dimensions and dilemmas in communication.

EARTHSCI 3336 Natural Resources and Civilizations

3 hrs. Introduction to the interactions and relationships between humans and natural resources: stone, clay, soil, water, plants. Geo archaeological findings from the Mediterranean to U.S.A. Rocky Mountains.

EARTHSCI 3367 Global Water Environment

3 hrs. Investigating natural water as a driver of human-environment relationships. The course provides a holistic view of global water scarcity and societal interactions with this important commodity. The course takes a multidisciplinary approach to increase people's awareness of social, cultural, and political crises that are linked to water inequality and injustice across the globe. Discussion includes new challenges in finding fresh water and our civic roles in defining a sustainable water future. Student Learning Outcomes include Values and Ethics.

ENGLISH 1050 Law and Literature

3 hrs. How do we decide what is right and fair? When, if ever, is it permissible to break the law? What role should mercy and revenge play in legal and moral judgment? How should we respond to historical wrongs and how can we rectify social and legal injustices today? Such questions have not only preoccupied jurists and philosophers but have also figured prominently in literature. In this UNIFI course we consider how imaginative writers from ancient Greece to the present day have examined the nature, problems, and possibilities of justice.

ENTR 1010 Overview of Entrepreneurship

3 hrs. The course will detail various paths of entrepreneurship available to UNI while introducing students to current entrepreneurial methodology including the entrepreneurial mindset, entrepreneurship, lean startup, design thinking, and Agile.

HIST 3110 Conflict and Justice in History: (Topic)

3 hrs. Conflict and Justice in History courses explore how competing social, cultural, economic, and political interests or visions have shaped concepts such as justice, responsibility, ethics, and values in different historical contexts.

May be repeated on different topics.

HIST 3279 Conflict and Justice in History: (Topic)

3 hrs. A travel study course in history, emphasizing the politics, culture, values, and ethics of historical societies. May be repeated on different topics.

May be repeated on different topics.

PH 1101 Introduction to Public Health

3 hrs. Introduction to the public health activities concerned with the protection and care of the community; survey of the major specialties and populations of interest in the public health field; and exploration of ethical issues related to public health.

PHIL 1040 Justice and the Good Life: Philosophical Perspectives

3 hrs. What makes a society just or unjust? What does it mean to lead a good life? The course will provide philosophical perspectives on these questions, including investigations of the principles and virtues that should guide how we interact with others in our communities and lead meaningful lives.

PHIL 1560 Science, Technology, and Ethics (STE)

3 hrs. The course is an interdisciplinary survey of ethical issues raised by recent developments in science and technology. Sample topics include, but are not limited to, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, big data, privacy, energy, medicine, and science itself.

PHIL/RELS 3510 Bio-Medical Ethics

3 hrs. Application of principles and analytic methods of ethical theory to contemporary issues in medical practice and research. Topics include fundamental concepts of health and disease, life and death; rights and obligations of medical practitioners and their patients; informed consent and confidentiality; abortion and euthanasia; reproductive and transplantation technologies; and health policy and the provision and rationing of health care.

RELS 3500 Religion and Ethics

3 hrs. Examination of key issues having to do with religion and ethics, including the moral function of religion, religious pluralism, war and peace, freedom and responsibility, religion and politics, religion and gender, and social justice.

RTNL 2130 Foundations of the Nonprofit Sector

3 hrs. Overview of the nonprofit sector including history, philosophy, mission, management, activities, and trends. Special emphases on the affiliate agencies of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance.

Students earning a "C" or better simultaneously earn a certificate from the Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center.

SOCFOUND 2274 Democracy and Education in the 21st Century

3 hrs. This course will explore the complex relationship between education and democracy. This will involve drawing on concepts and theories from the social foundations of education (history, philosophy, and sociology of education) in order to apply interpretive, normative, and critical perspectives on democracy and education, their historical and contemporary relationship, and the possibilities for future entanglements.

TECH 1015 Introduction to Sustainability

3 hrs. Students will gain a basic understanding of sustainability, with focus on possibilities for harmonizing economic, ecological, and social goals for current and future generations. They will conduct practical exercises to enhance personal sustainability.