Postgraduate Course: Biotechnology, Bioethics and Society (LAWS11372)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This module considers the ethics of biotechnology and the life sciences. It begins by giving the student an ethics toolbox with which to approach, analyse and assess current bioethical controversies and discourses. It then addresses specific topics to further explore ethical issues arising from biotechnology and its uses, as well as an exercise to explore crucial ethical concepts and arguments. Finally, in an age of moral pluralism, it can be difficult for stakeholders to secure social consensus on how new biotechnologies should be controlled and exploited. As a result, the regulation of biotechnology has often been a site of sharp disagreement. This module will also examine how the bioethical discussion feeds into the regulatory and governance considerations of biotechnology. |
| Course description |
Session 1- Biotechnology and critical bioethics: a toolbox for ethical and normative analysis and discussion.
Session 2- Assisted reproductive technologies: reproductive freedoms and procreative imperatives
Session 3: The embryo in research: stem cell technologies and gene editing.
Session 4: Neuroethics: interventions in the brain, peripheral nervous system and brain-machine interfaces
Session 5: Genomics I: smart pharmacology and customized therapeutics.
Session 6: Genomics II: non-therapeutics uses of genomics, population research and big data.
Session 7: Fitness-tracking devices
Session 8: E-health and social networks: uses health and public health emergencies
Session 9: GM food: controversies and global food ethics
Session 10: Synthetic Biology: biohacking, biosafety and biosecurity.
Students will develop their skills and abilities in:
1. Research and enquiry, through e.g. selecting and deploying appropriate research techniques;
2. Personal and intellectual autonomy, e.g. developing the ability to independently assess the relevance and importance of primary and secondary sources;
3. Communication, e.g. skills in summarising and communicating information and ideas effectively in written form;
4. Personal effectiveness, e.g. working constructively as a member of an online community;
5. Students will also develop their technical/practical skills, throughout the module, e.g. in articulating, evidencing and sustaining a line of argument, and engaging in a convincing critique of another's arguments.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Appreciate the range of competing considerations and interests at play in the ethics and regulation of biotechnology and the life sciences;
- Formulate well-reasoned and coherent arguments relating to biotechnology and bioethics;
- Show a solid understanding of current bioethical debates, concepts and arguments relating to bioethics, as well as their normative and regulatory implications where applicable.
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Reading List
| A list of key module readings will be available in advance of the module. Detailed reading lists are then available each week. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students will develop their skills and abilities in:
1. Research and enquiry, through e.g. selecting and deploying appropriate research techniques;
2. Personal and intellectual autonomy, e.g. developing the ability to independently assess the relevance and importance of primary and secondary sources;
3. Communication, e.g. skills in summarising and communicating information and ideas effectively in written form;
4. Personal effectiveness, e.g. working constructively as a member of an online community;
5. Students will also develop their technical/practical skills, throughout the module, e.g. in articulating, evidencing and sustaining a line of argument, and engaging in a convincing critique of another's arguments.
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Agomoni Ganguli Mitra
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Clare Polson
Tel: (0131 6)51 9704
Email: |
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