Course description:
Responsible for the course:
Further reading:
The above questions are all central to this course, as is the examination of alternative ethical approaches and theories put forth by feminist ethicists, such as care ethics, maternal ethics, queer ethics, disability ethics and ecofeminist ethics.
Each class will start with a lecture: presenting and reflecting upon different aspects of feminist ethics. Students will also work together in groups, and asked to discuss and apply possible feminist ethical approaches to relevant real-life challenges such as reproductive autonomy, private and professional care-work, and social, global and environmental injustice.
1. What are the difficulties and dilemmas faced by women care laborers who migrate and are mothers from the perspectives of feminist care ethis and the global justice perspective?
2. How can one, from the perspective of existentialist ethics explain the challenges of aging, and how can care ethics be applied to the situation of elderly?
3. During birth, a situation occurs which causes both the mother and the child to need blood transfusion. The situation is critical, and there is a significant chance that both the mother and the child might die if they do not get a transfusion immediately. However, based on her religion, the mother refuses to accept a blood transfusion for herself and for the child. Imagine that your group constitute the healthcare team, and have to make the decision whether or not to conduct the blood transfusion. Analyze the situation from the perspectives of feminist ethics. What do the healthcare team decide, and how do they reach this their decision?
The teaching methods used in this course are inspired by feminist pedagogy and problem-based learning.