Bioethics Course Descriptions
Courses in bioethics are designed for those wanting to develop a biblically based, theologically informed understanding of current and emerging ethical challenges involving matters of life and death, sickness and health. Courses address various arenas in which bioethical issues are shaped and engaged, including medicine and nursing, law and public policy, education and the church. Special summer bioethics institutes and conference courses provide the opportunity to interact with Christian leaders in bioethics from around the world.
BE 5000 (774) Introduction to Bioethics: Matters of Life and Death
An overview of the ethical issues in health care and biotechnology that make up the field of bioethics. Biblical-theological and other prominent contemporary perspectives are developed and assessed. Three hours.
BE 5100 (785) Intensive Bioethics Institute
A survey of the field of bioethics, introducing competing ways of addressing biological issues in historical, philosophical, and theological perspective. A national/international team of 15-20 top Christian bioethicists address their special areas of expertise under the direction of the course professor. Three or four hours.
BE 5300 (779) Clinical Issues in Bioethics
Questions such as clinical consultation, ethics committees, and the role of the pastor are addressed by a clinician with the help of case studies. Two hours.
BE 5500 (776) Bioethics and Public Policy
The interface of bioethics and public policy in North American and international contexts, with special attention to such topics as the early twentieth-century eugenics movement, medicine in Nazi Germany, Roe v. Wade and its background, the growing interest in euthanasia (with special note of developments in Holland), the Human Genome Initiative and its implications, and questions of resource allocation. Two hours.
BE 5800 Bioethics Regional Conference Course
The regional bioethics conferences held by Trinity in various parts of the U.S. and world that provide special opportunities to learn from and interact with Christian leaders in bioethics from around the country and beyond. The course includes a preconference reading program and postconference writing program tailored to the topic of the conference. Class meeting with the professor takes place at the conference. May be repeated for credit. Two or three hours.
BE 5900 (775) Bioethics National Conference Course
Participating in this Trinity-sponsored conference provides a unique opportunity to learn from, and interact with, Christian leaders in bioethics from around the country and beyond. The course includes a preconference reading program and postconference writing program tailored to the topic of the conference. Class meetings with the professor immediately precede and are interspersed throughout the conference. May be taken in addition to an Institute course such as BE 5100 or BE 6500 offered in conjunction with the conference. May be repeated for credit. Two or three hours.
BE 6100 (782) Bioethics Colloquium
The Colloquium meets four times during the semester, with a professor of record and a combination of visiting lecturers, faculty, and student presentations. Local pastors, physicians, and others are invited to attend, offering a meeting-point between the program and church and medical communities. May be repeated for credit. One or two hours.
BE 6300 Bioethics, Human Dignity, and the Church
Issues in bioethics raise fundamental questions of human dignity in the lives of people everywhere, to which the church is uniquely well-positioned to speak. This course enables students to understand many of today’s bioethical challenges to human dignity and to develop practical ministry resources to address them through the preaching, teaching, worship, counseling, and outreach ministries of the church. Three hours.
BE 6400 (777) Readings in Bioethics
Readings in bioethics from Hippocrates to the beginning of the modern bioethics period in Fletcher and Ramsay down to the most contemporary bioethicists. Readings in the earlier periods focus on the birth and development of the Hippocratic/Judeo-Christian tradition. Readings in the most contemporary bioethicists place special focus on the secularization of bioethics as seen in such writers as Singer, Engelhardt, and Childress. Depending on the professor’s interest and expertise, the course may focus on either classical or contemporary readings. Three hours.
BE 6500 (786) Advanced Bioethics Institute
A methodological investigation of how to do bioethics with a range of approaches critically assessed from a biblical-theological perspective. A current issue in bioethics provides a test case. A national/international team of 15-20 top Christian bioethicists address their special areas of expertise under the direction of the course professor. Prerequisite: BE 5000 or BE 5100. Three or four hours.
BE 6600 Classic Cases in Bioethics
Many of the major issues in bioethics have been shaped by pivotal medical and legal cases. The course examines those cases in detail and uses them as a springboard for understanding the larger ethical issues that they address. Three hours.
BE 6700 (783) Personhood in Theological & Philosophical Perspective
Analysis of the role played by this key concept in bioethical debate against the background of philosophical and theological usage. Cross-list as ST. Three hours.
BE 7700 (780) Bioethics Seminar
Topical course conducted as a seminar on a question such as autonomy and informed consent, healthcare systems, resource allocation, end-of-life decision-making. May be repeated. One to four hours.