Courses:

Current Events and Social Issues >> Content Detail



Syllabus



Syllabus

This course, as part of the Experimental Study Group Seminar Series, offers students the opportunity to participate in a small discussion-based class taught by an MIT upperclassman under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. Students Claudia Gold (B.S. 07 Political Science) and Jocelyn Rodal (B.S. 06 Literature) taught this seminar in cooperation with Dr. Lee Perlman, Lecturer in the Experimental Study Group. Seminars taught in this format are all graded Pass/Fail and receive 1/2 of the academic credit assigned to regular academic classes.



Course Description


Welcome to Current Events and Social Issues. Our goal in this seminar is to have open discussions of political and social issues and to raise awareness of current events in an informal setting. We are hoping to have students from a variety of political persuasions. We want you to feel free to disagree with our own political opinions, which for the sake of openness we will not keep secret.

For the first part of each meeting, our discussion will focus on current events from that week. The second half will be supplemented by readings, films, and guest speakers. Students are expected to read the news from multiple sources every day of the week, and we encourage you to read news media from around the world.



Course Calendar



WEEK #Topics
1Introduction and Political Systems of Thought
2What is a just war? Were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just?
3What is a just war? Were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just? (cont.)
4Is pornography sexist? Should it be regulated?
5How should we treat criminals? What constitutes "cruel and unusual" punishment?
6Should we legalize marijuana? How should we treat other drugs?
7What is the future of Social Security?

Guest Speaker: Toh Ne Win from Goldman Sachs
8In what forms does discrimination exist in our society today? Should the government step in to stop discrimination?
9Is outsourcing of jobs a problem? If so, what should we do?
10The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Where can we go from here?
11Should abortion be regulated?
12Genocide in Rwanda and Sudan: How should we react?
13Is it ever right to break the law?

 








© 2009-2020 HigherEdSpace.com, All Rights Reserved.
Higher Ed Space ® is a registered trademark of AmeriCareers LLC.