Dear Brave & Adventurous Students!
Welcome to your London study abroad course in International Biomedical and Research Ethics (Bioethics for short). We are going to have a great experience. Congratulations on your hard work getting your schedules, personal lives, and finances in order so that you could take advantage of this terrific opportunity.
This is a unique experience since you and I will work more closely than
in other traditional courses. We won't have the familiar constraints of
traditional classrooms, time-frames, personal distance. I'm here to
help you both with the travel part of our course, as well as the
philosophy content. This arrangement can be a bit tricky to negotiate,
but I'm confident that we'll all adjust quickly and will make the most
of the opportunity.
You've introduced yourselves on Facebook, and we can use that venue for discussion about the travel part (packing, money, being prepared for international travel, fun & entertainment, etc.). Let's talk about the course here. What are your expectations? Have you studied philosophy before? Why are you interested in this class? What are your concerns?
Hello, Dr. Cate! Let me start by saying how excited I am to get to London and officially meet all of you guys! Already, this class has exceeded my expectations and made me think in a way I didn't think possible: outside of my typical beliefs. Having never taken a philosophy class (and being from a small (and sometimes narrow-minded) community), I am extremely interested in how this class can transform my mindset into one that is more open and accepting to other's viewpoints. While I have some concerns that this class might challenge what I believe in in a negative manner, I have always seen myself as a non-judgemental person, and I am willing to go out of my comfort zone in order to make that one of my most outstanding attributes. As a future nurse practitioner, I believe this is an imperative quality, and one that I intend to invest into.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI am very excited to be going to London and meet everyone. I have had a philosophy class before it was death and dying with dr.cate and i loved it so i know this class will be excellent. from this class i hope to get a better understanding of medical ethics and some of the different philosophical and personal viewpoints. being someone who might go into research i thing this might benefit me greatly. I am a very open minded people and tend to see where people are coming from with their beliefs i just hope i am good at bringing out my opinion although i am neutral on a lot of things.
Hello Everyone!
ReplyDeleteI have not studied philosophy before but since it is required I thought it might as well be in London on a topic I am interested in. I am expecting to learn a lot about biomedical ethics and London. I also hope to get out and take advantage of the city and what it has to offer historically and theatrically. I am especially interested in the biomedical ethics, because I hope to apply to medical school this coming summer. I love to travel and have been out of the country a few times. I am so excited to experience London with all of you!
Hello Class!
ReplyDeleteI am very excited/anxious to be traveling to London with you all! I took a Health Care Ethics class online about 2 years ago, but being that it was an online course I really did not get much out of it. I am a senior nursing student, and I am excited to see how this class affects my way of thinking. I find all of the difficult topics in health care to be the most interesting and I am looking forward to learning more about them. I am hoping this class will help me expand my knowledge of becoming a nurse in the near future. I am so excited to meet everyone and share this amazing experience with you all!
Hi!
ReplyDeleteThis class will be my first time formally studying any form of philosophy, and I am actually excited to branch out into a new world of information. Like Chelsea was saying above, growing up in a smaller town gave me a somewhat sheltered perspective on what is truly happening in the world. Living in a city for the past two years has helped to adjust that, but I am still observing different things each day. I hope to continue to do that on this trip with people from other diverse backgrounds.
As far as the content of the class goes, I am interested in a deeper study of Sandel's book, which was the topic of my freshman writing seminar class last year. Seeing as the class was for "challenged writers" (aka me), it ended up being football players and engineers, and thus, it wasn't very intense from the philosophy perspective. Also, I have really enjoyed reading about Henrietta Lacks so far, and I am eager to have class discussions with everyone about that novel and the many ethical issues it contains.
See you all in a few days!
Hello! I am very excited to be in London with each of you in only 3 short days! I expect this philosophy course to be both challenging and engaging. I have only taken one philosophy course before. It was an aesthetics course during my sophomore year. This course was more focused on history than the students' views.
ReplyDeleteI am excited to see how this class examines and alters my moral views. As a future teacher, I am used to telling children to be accepting and respectful of others' views. In my own studies, I need to be sure to do this even though I may have strong opinions of my own. I am concerned that I may voice my own opinion more than listening to others considering that I like to talk a lot! I will try my best to listen to each and every one of you.
Hello everyone! I'm extremely excited to go to London (and leave the US for the first time in my life) and get to know everyone! I have never studied philosophy, or anything like it actually, since I'm an Architecture major and philosophy isn't exactly part of the program. Being that I have never studied philosophy before, I expect to learn a whole lot and have many new and great learning experiences that I don't get in architecture classes and in the US. I enjoy listening to other people's beliefs and seeing how they are different from mine, and having discussions about them. I'm interested in this class because I would like to expand my educational background and learn new things. I look forward to growing from this class and being challenged in a way I never have before. I hope to find a way to apply the content of this class to my area of study, despite the major differences between the two.
ReplyDeleteSee everyone in a few days!
Hey! Sorry I know it's a bit late. I went boarding with some friends today. I (like everyone else) am extremely excited to be leaving for London in 2 days! Can't wait to get to meet all of you (well the few I don't know anyway)! This will be my first time flying internationally and spending more than about a day outside of the USA. This will be my first time out of North America. I have taken 1 philosophy class (Philosophy of Human Nature) at TMC and to be honest, I found it pretty boring. I am majoring in biology and have a strong interest in human anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, physics, and cell biology. More than anything, I expect this class to be a variety of new experiences for me. I think that many of my core beliefs and opinions will be challenged and maybe changed while on this trip and after discussing some of the issues as listed in the textbook. I think that the only reason I found the other philosophy class boring was that it wasn't based on ethics, but almost a history of ancient philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, etc.) and I just couldn't get into it. I am interested in this class because the material is related to my field of study and a possible future occupation and it deals with very controversial issues that people encounter on a daily basis. I have no concerns. I think this class will be a fun learning experience.
ReplyDeleteSee ya in a bit!
Hello! I have never had the pleasure of taking a philosophy course before, and so far this course has been very enlightening. I am looking forward to meeting you all in person and seeing the sights in London! We did touch on philosophy in my Honors courses, but not nearly to the degree that this class will. I haven't developed any strong opinions for many of the issues we will discuss in this class, so I'm excited to learn about them and make an informed decision on the morality of these issues. I am interested in this class because I think it will help me learn many things about myself that I haven't yet discovered. I am not by any means a philosophy major, but I do take an interest in the controversial issues that are often the topic of heated debates today, and I want to inform myself about as many disciplines of study that I can while I'm in college. I am concerned that my lack of knowledge of philosophy will make the material in this class seem daunting at times; after all, this is a lot of information to absorb in a few short weeks. Overall, I am very excited for this trip and I think the deeper we dive into this class, the more intrigued I will become.
ReplyDeleteHey guys!!! I am so excited for this class, and to be in London!!! It's almost here!! I have actually never taken a philosophy course, so this will be a first for me. That makes it even more exciting, and another new experience I will be able to partake in!! I am a nursing major, so I was really excited to discover that there was a biomedical ethics course available. Being that I will be a nurse in four short months, I am intrigued to learn the ethical dilemmas involved in healthcare. I'm most enlightened by stem cell research, so I hope to touch on that topic. I am a type 1 diabetic, so stem cell research is something that could benefit me, as well as others with different conditions, immensely. I have already learned so much through the pre-trip assignments, and cannot wait to learn even more during our trip. I am more than excited to meet everyone, and I will see you guys soon!
ReplyDeleteHello! So I'm probably the last one putting up my introduction because I have been in Toronto the past week without the Internet! I am so so so sooooo excited to be going to London, especially since I am currently sitting at my gate in the Toronto airport....trying to make friends with my fellow Canadians before our flight to London! I can't wait to get to know everyone one the trip and be able to spend more time with those who I already know!
ReplyDeleteI have taken a philosophy class before with dr. Cate! I was in her modern philosophy class and really enjoyed it my first year! Surprisingly, I find myself beyond excited to be in this class over in London. I have always, weirdly, found ethics and ideas surrounding medicine and death very interesting. I come from a very conservative background so I'm very nervous yet excited to hear what everyone's beliefs are on the various issues we will be discussing.