Bioethics

SAMPLE COURSES

Disability studies offers perhaps the most trenchant critique of "the hegemony of the normal"--that is, the reification and privileging of certain numerical indices (for example, IQ score; body mass index; weight and height; complete blood count; range of motion; brainwave frequencies; and other such measurements which are then regarded as "better" or "worse" than comparable numbers). While certainly accepting the importance of such measurements in designing treatments and strategies to improve the quality of life for people living in pain, disability studies seeks to balance this "experience-distant" emphasis on "the quantified life" with "experience-near" insights. Thus disability studies seeks out, reflects on, and tries to incorporate and prioritize the meta-biological realities of the lived experiences of people with disabilities (defined here as lifelong or chronic biological and/or psychological impairments), especially in policy-making endeavors inspired by ideals of social justice. Hence this course focuses on issues of power, disparity, and diversity of experience and identities, particularly as these affect and are affected by the minds and bodies of individuals who "have" (or are socially close to people who "have") conditions that mark them as "not normal". Unlike studies done from the perspective of the healing professions, where non-normalcy is regarded as a condition to be helped or remedied, this course, following the perspective of disability studies, is less concerned with identifying and "fixing" deviation from some statistically defined ideal range, and more directly focused on socially grounded, ever-dynamic identity construction and its relation to emancipatory social change, especially when these processes involve confrontations between individuals with disabilities and the various social institutions (e.g. education, health care, legal and economic systems) they (or their caregivers) must deal with throughout their lives.

Code

Knowledge, Identity, and Power

MEET THE FACULTY

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Gregory Johnson

Visiting Assistant Professor, Biology

gregoryjohnson@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Johnson teaches a wide range of biology courses Cell Biology and Biochemical Pathways/Processes, as well as serving as the Faculty Chair for Health Professions Advising.

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Ha Jung Lee

Assistant Professor, Religion, Spirituality, and Society and Bioethics

hjlee@pugetsound.edu

With research focused on end-of-life decision-making by ethnic minority immigrants, Prof. Lee teaches courses in both the religious studies department and Bioethics Program.

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Sam Liao

Associate Professor, Philosophy

sliao@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Liao researches on the interactions between minds and social realities. In practice, this broad interest gets him to explore connections between imagination, cognition, values, art, and more.

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Leslie Saucedo

Professor, Biology

lsaucedo@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Saucedo's research on cell growth and division identifies new genes and mechanisms involved in an organism's growth, which are often subverted to contribute to cancer in adults. She teaches biology courses at all levels.

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Jung Kim

Associate Professor and Chair, Exercise Science

jkim@pugetsound.edu

While researching the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in regulating rodents' skeletal muscle phenotype, Prof. Kim also teaches a variety of courses, including human physiology and ethics in sports.

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Suzanne Holland

Professor, Religion, Spirituality, and Society, John B. Magee Professor of Science and Values, and Director, Bioethics

sholland@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Holland teaches courses in ethics and values, including topics in gender studies and bioethics. Her research interests include ethics in human genetics, biotechnology, religion, and culture.

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Ariela Tubert

Professor and Chair, Philosophy

atubert@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Tubert's research is in moral philosophy and action theory. She also has interests in social and legal philosophy, Latin American Philosophy, and ethical issues in artificial intelligence and the environment.

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Siddharth Ramakrishnan

Professor, Biology and Director, Neuroscience

sramakrishnan@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Ramakrishnan teaches high-level biology and neuroscience courses while focusing research on sensory-motor integration, developmental biology, and neuroendocrinology.

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Kristin Johnson

Professor and Director, Science, Technology, Health, and Society

kristinjohnson@pugetsound.edu

In research, Prof. Johnson focuses on the history of the life sciences and the relationship between science and religion since the 17th century, with special interest in the naturalist tradition of the 19th and 20th centuries.

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EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

A sampling of ways our students learn through experience:

Kate Gladhart Hayes '20 was awarded a summer research grant in 2019 for her study "The Half-Life of Environmental Racism: Reproductive Justice and Nuclear Technology on Indigenous Lands" after spending summer 2018 in Spain on the Madrid Summers internship program.
Samantha Lilly '19 won a prestigious Watson Fellowship for a year of international travel and study following graduation, pursuing her topic "Understanding Suicidality Across Cultures.” This continues research she did during her summer 2019 research grant, "An Ethnographic, Experimental Philosophical Inquiry into Attitudes and Perceptions Toward Suicidality."
Grant Garcia '18 spent summer 2017 studying comparative healthcare of Northern Europe system in a classroom setting and clinical medicine in Copenhagen, Denmark and Vienna, Austria in a hospital setting.

JOBS

Our graduates work at:

Washington State Department of Health (staff attorney)
Oregon Health & Science University (clinical research assistant)
UW Microbiology (research scientist)
PIONEER Technologies Corporation (staff environmental scientist)
University of Chicago (research and evaluation consultant)

CONTINUE STUDYING

Our graduates continue their studies at:

Lewis & Clark Law School
Northwestern University (M..S, health communication)
The George Washington University (master’s degree, public policy analysis)
Iowa State University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences (master’s degree, ecology and evolutionary biology)
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (master’s degree, family nurse practitioner)

Capriana Jiang ’22 (right) with a visitor of Tacoma's Neighborhood Clinic

Community

Students

Puget Sound Pre-Med Student on a Mission To Provide Equal Access to Health Care

Capriana Jiang ’23 volunteers for a Tacoma nonprofit that runs a free health clinic

Campus

Faculty

University of Puget Sound announces faculty appointments to endowed positions

Professors will deepen conversations, research, and curriculum about bioethics, artificial intelligence, and more

Graham Hall ’24 breathes through a special monitoring device.

Students

University of Puget Sound Students Take a Plunge for Science

Chris Nicol ’24 researches the effect of cold water on the mammalian dive reflex

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

DENMARK

Samantha Scott '17 spent a term at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad studying the Cognitive Neuroscience of Consciousness.

NATIONAL BIOETHICS BOWL

Simone Moore '20, one of the university's first Posse Scholars, was active in a variety of aspects of campus including Adelphian Concert Choir and student government, as well as being part of the Ethics Bowl team participating in the National Bioethics Bowl in 2019.

SRI LANKA

Samantha Lilly '19 spent the summer of 2017 in Sri Lanka completing a psychology internship with a mental health placement.

THIS COULD BE YOU!

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Imagine Better Futures

Rethink the World

Bioethics

In this section

WHAT You’ll LEARN

WHO YOU COULD BE

OVERVIEW

CONTACT INFORMATION

Bioethics

Director, Bioethics Program

Administrative Support Coordinator

Office Hours

What is Justice?

Basics of Bioethics

The Cognitive Foundations of Morality and Religion

Moral Philosophy

Evolution and Ethics

Disability, Identity, and Power

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

JOBS

CONTINUE STUDYING

Puget Sound Pre-Med Student on a Mission To Provide Equal Access to Health Care

University of Puget Sound announces faculty appointments to endowed positions

University of Puget Sound Students Take a Plunge for Science

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

THIS COULD BE YOU!

Imagine Better Futures

Rethink the World

Bioethics

In this section

WHAT You’ll LEARN

WHO YOU COULD BE

OVERVIEW

CONTACT INFORMATION

Bioethics

Director, Bioethics Program

Administrative Support Coordinator

Office Hours

What is Justice?

Basics of Bioethics

The Cognitive Foundations of Morality and Religion

Moral Philosophy

Evolution and Ethics

Disability, Identity, and Power

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

JOBS

CONTINUE STUDYING

Puget Sound Pre-Med Student on a Mission To Provide Equal Access to Health Care

University of Puget Sound announces faculty appointments to endowed positions

University of Puget Sound Students Take a Plunge for Science

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

THIS COULD BE YOU!

Neuroscience

Science, Technology, Health & Society

Biology