Course Description
This course will provide students with an opportunity to attain an
understanding of the relationships between humans and animals in a broad
perspective. The following are some of the major topics we will be addressing:
historical and contemporary views on animal intelligence and cognition,
ethical issues concerning our relations with animals, and some contemporary
perspectives, pro and con, on controversial issues regarding animals in
agriculture, medical research, and the environment.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should have a deeper, more scientifically
and philosophically informed understanding of the importance and complexity
of human-animal relationships. They should also have a wider sense of how
we have traditionally regarded the role and status of animals and what
contemporary views toward animals are, as well as the capacity for developing
a responsible normative view of their own.
Assignments
There will be 3 exams, mixed format, given approximately at the ends
of week 5 and week 10 and during final exam week, each counting 20% of
the course grade. Class participation, including active contribution to
classroom discussion, indicative of familiarity with the day's readings,
as well as completion of several short take-home or in-class written assignments,
will count 20%. The final 20% will be based on a project investigating
some aspect of the human-animal relationship, to be explored in greater
detail either individually or in small groups, involving some out-of-the-classroom
experience, library and on-line research, and/or in-depth philosophical
exploration of a topic; projects will be written up individually and presented
to the class either individually or by the group (with each individual
student responsible for a part of the group presentation). Grading will
be on a 100-point scale, with 90-100=A, 80-89=B, 70-79=C, 60-69=D, below
60=F. Students will be responsible for having read the day's assignment
before coming to class so that much of class time can be devoted to discussion.
Considerable feedback on the students' understanding of the course material
will be offered during class and as written comments on take-home and in-class
assignments. Videotapes, where appropriate, will be shown (or segments
thereof) to further stimulate class discussion and deeper insights into
particular issues. Additional information on daily assignments will be
made available as the course progresses, and small deviations from this
general syllabus may occur, so students are strongly advised to attend
class regularly in order to stay current on material under consideration.
Course Texts
Peter Singer, Animal Liberation, 2d ed., Avon Books, 1990. Additional
reading materials will be required and will be made available either through
library reserve, electronic reserve, or as a course packet through the
bookstores.
Course Outline
Week Dates Topic
1 Jan 9
Introduction: Perceptions
Jan 11
of Humans & Animals
2 Jan 16
Views of Minds
Jan 18
3 Jan 23
Animal Minds:
Jan 25
Historical Views
4 Jan 30
Animal Minds:
Feb 1
Contemporary views
5 Feb 6
Animal Minds .
Feb 8
First Exam
6 Feb 13
Ethics and Animals:
Feb 15
Ethical Theories
7 Feb 20
Ethics and Animals:
Feb 22
Animal Ethics
8 Feb 27
Animals and Society:
Mar 1
Animals and Science
9 Mar 6
Animals and Society:
Mar 8
Animals in Agriculture
Mar 12-16 SPRING BREAK
10 Mar 20 Hunting and
Zoos
Mar 22
Second Exam
11 Mar 27 Humans and
Animals
Mar 29
in the Ecosphere
12 Apr 3 Animals and Environmental
Philosophy
Apr 5
13 Apr 10 Human and Animals:
Apr 12
New Relationships?
14 Apr 17 Student Presentations
Apr 19
Student Presentations
FINAL EXAM Thursday, April 26, 10:00-12:50