Calendar

SES # TOPICS KEY DATES
1

Introduction

Screening:
The Judith Butler, Peter Singer, and Slavoj Žižek sections of Examined Life. Directed by Astra Taylor. Color, 87 min. 2008.

  
2

Racial Profiling

Guest: Adam Hosein, Department of Philosophy, University of Colorado, Boulder

  
3

U.S. Criminal Punishment / Justice System

Guest: Erin Kelly, Department of Philosophy, Tufts University

  
4 Punishment, Deterrence, Prisons  
5

Military Spending, Federal Spending; Universities' Research Budgets and Dollars Spent

Guest: Subrata Ghoshroy, Science, Technology and Global Security Working Group, Program in Science, Technology, and Society, MIT

 First Reflection Paper due
6

Ethical Sustainable Farming Practices

Guests: Kim Denney and Rich Jakshtis, Chestnut Farms

  

Screening: Independent Lens: American Denial. Directed by Llewellyn M. Smith. Color, 60 min. 2015.

Note: Attendance is Optional
7

Gender and Gaming

Guest: Jessica Hammer, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

  
8

"Choose Your Own Adventure" Reflection: 6 Minutes to a Topic Round-robin

The idea is to give you an opportunity both (a) to discuss further any issues or questions raised in previous classes (or events you've attended for reflections) that have been lingering in your mind, and (b) to discuss any ethical / political /cultural issues you are passionate about that haven't yet been covered in the class.

  
9

Student Activist Panel

Panelists

Jay Hodges, a Ph.D. student in the Philosophy department at MIT, who is active in a wide range of political, activist, and protest groups. He will discuss the less conventional possibilities for activism: Civil disobedience, direct action, and person-to-person confrontation.

Rose Lenehan, a graduate student in the Philosophy department MIT, volunteers for the Fossil Free MIT campaign. She will discuss her experience balancing her academic work with finding time to volunteer for Fossil Free MIT. She will also share her experiences working as a counselor at a summer camp, where she was faced with the challenge of confronting and educating her (all boy) campers regarding the racist and sexist jokes they made.

William Li, a graduate student in the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department at MIT. His focus is applying computer science and AI to health care, assistive technologies, and understanding human systems and technology. During the class, he will discuss his work with assistive technologies, particularly for wheelchair use.

Mareena Robinson Snowden, a graduate student in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT, and a Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Stewardship Science Doctoral Fellow. She will talk about her work as president of the MIT Chapter of Global Zero, an international organization dedicated to ultimately ridding the world of nuclear warheads.

 Second Reflection Paper due
10 Final Presentations  
11 Final Presentations (cont.) Third Reflection Paper due