Objectives: Advances in genetics have the potential to do much good, but they may also create difficult social and ethical issues that we are unprepared for. This course seeks to provide students of all majors with the necessary framework for arriving at their own conclusions about the proper role of genetic technology, for themselves, their families, and society at large.

Prerequisites: Advanced standing and Biol 101, 102, or 104.

Credit Value: 3

Contact Time: Three 50 minute lectures per week.

Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:

• understand the origin, spread, and ultimate demise of the original eugenics movement
• understand Mendelian genetics and how it is misused by the eugenicists
• be familiar with reproductive technologies, genetic testing, cloning, and other genetic technologies
• be aware of the social and ethical issues surrounding these genetic technologies and to develop the ability to see both sides of these issues
• present opinions on these issues, in three ways: classroom discussions, a written paper, and a debate
• be better prepared to make thoughtful decisions about genetic issues, not only those that touch you directly, but also those affecting society at large

Assessment: Students will be assessed through the administration of examinations and quizzes, submission of an outline paper and final paper, debate, and classroom participation.

Lecture Schedule:

• Early ideas about heredity
• Evolutionary ethics before Darwin
• Darwinian natural selection
• The origins of the eugenics movement
• The Mendelian revolution
• The rise of the eugenics movement
• Negative eugenics: compulsory sterilization laws
• Negative eugenics: immigration restriction laws
• Negative eugenics: scientific racism
• The Holocaust and the demise of the eugenics movement
• Defining human life
• Basics of embryonic development
• The stem cell debate
• Introduction to reproductive technologies
• Preimplantation genetioc testing for cystic fibrosis
• The ethics of egg donation
• Cloning: from Dolly to humans