Core courses
BIET 120
Applied Ethics: Introduction to Biomedical Ethics
The course will examine moral dilemmas created or intensified by recent advances in medical technology and study ways of analyzing those dilemmas to make them more tractable. We will focus on examples such as euthanasia and the right to die, abortion, behavior modification, allocation of scarce medical resources, in vitro fertilization, genetic screening and engineering, and human experimentation. 6 units. Also listed as Philosophy 120. Prerequisite: Recommended for freshmen and sophomores
BIET 245
Health Psychology
This course explores the link between mind and body from various psychological perspectives such as social, clinical, and psychobiological. We will survey the role of stress, emotion, self-regulation, and individual differences as predictors of health and illness. We also will examine assessment, diagnostic, treatment, and ethical issues in psychophysiological disorders. 6 units. Also listed as Psychology 245. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or sophomore standing
BIET 290
The Economics of Medical Care
An analysis of how the economic organization of medical care affects the health and well-being of the population. Topics include who is treated, how much the treatment costs, and who pays the bill. Particular emphasis given to the roles of insurance and various national health policies and reform proposals. 6 units. Also listed as Economics 290. Prerequisite: ECON 100 or ECON 120
BIET 370
Advanced Studies in Bioethics
A seminar examining one particular issue or set of issues in bioethics. 6 units. Also listed as Philosophy 370. Prerequisite: PHIL 120 or two courses in philosophy
BIET 495
Health Policy
A seminar addressing present and prospective health care policy in the United States. Emphasis on various contemporary health care problems, including high and rising costs, differences in access to medical service, and trade-offs between cost and quality. Specific topics include Medicare, Medicaid, medical malpractice, profit versus not-only-for-profit producers of care, and alternative delivery systems. 6 units. Also listed as Government 495. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor
BIET 190, 390, 590, 690
Tutorial Studies in Biomedical Ethics
Variable units. Prerequisite: Counter registration required
BIET 199, 399, 599, 699
Independent Study in Biomedical Ethics
Variable units. Prerequisite: counter Registration required
Optional courses
ANTH 110
Cultural Anthropology
An introduction to the nature of culture, the organization of social relations, and the relationships between values and behavior. Attention to the human use of culture in adapting to environments and to language, technology, kinship, and religion as cultural systems. Case studies of Western and non-Western peoples. 6 units. Prerequisite: Freshman or sophomore standing; consent of instructor required for juniors and seniors
ANTH 342
Medical Anthropology
A cross-cultural study of health, healing, and beliefs about the body and illness. Particular attention is paid to the cultural construction of medical beliefs and practices (our biomedical model is only one of many possible world views). 6 units. Prerequisite: ANTH 110 or 140
BIOL 354
Molecular Biology
An interdisciplinary examination of regulatory mechanisms leading to differential gene expression. Main topics include transcription, translation, gene and protein structure. Further examination of the molecular basis of disease, including cancer, as well as the mechanisms by which viruses exploit a cell’s molecular machinery. Laboratory work is experimental in approach. Lecture and laboratory. 6 units. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing, BIOL 110, and CHEM 115
BIOL 453
Developmental Biology
An experimental approach to animal development with laboratory and lecture emphasis on the molecular and cellular level. Includes discussions of pattern formation, differentiation, cell interactions, gametogenesis, fertilization, and early embryogenesis. Lecture and laboratory. 6 units. Prerequisite: BIOL 140; concurrent enrollment in or completion of one of the following: BIOL 241, 444 (or CHEM 340), 351 or 354
ECON 270
Public Sector Economics: Taxation Analysis
An analysis of the effects of governmental taxation policies on the allocation of resources and on the distribution of income. Considerable attention to analyzing the equity and efficiency implications of various tax instruments. 6 units. Also listed as Government 278. Prerequisite: ECON 100
ECON 275
Public Sector Economics: Expenditure Analysis
This course examines market deficiencies, including externalities and public goods, as well as the policy responses to these deficiencies. Policy selection will be discussed in terms of voting behavior and public choice theory. The course also will address cost-benefit analysis, governmental subsidies, and specific government programs such as Social Security. 6 units. Also listed as Government 279. Prerequisite: ECON 100 or ECON 120
ECON 290
The Economics of Medical Care
An analysis of how the economic organization of medical care affects the health and well-being of the population. Topics include who is treated, how much the treatment costs, and who pays the bill. Particular emphasis given to the roles of insurance and various national health policies and reform proposals. 6 units. Also listed as Biomedical Ethics 290. Prerequisite: ECON 100 or ECON 120
ECON 400
Industrial Organization
An analysis of behavior in industrial markets where firms’ revenues or costs are interdependent. Introduces game theory, the mathematics of interdependent choices. 6 units. Prerequisite: ECON 300
ECON 440
Public Expenditure
A study of governmental expenditures in the American economy and of ways to evaluate their effects on economic efficiency and on the distribution of income. 6 units. Prerequisite: ECON 300
GEOL 213
Geology and Health
A course investigating the links between geology and health, considering topics such as asbestos, natural and anthropogenic water contamination, and cycling of trace elements as both contaminants and necessary nutrients. Designed to illuminate the link between the seemingly disparate fields of geology and the health of life on earth. 6 units. Also listed as Environmental Studies 202. Prerequisite: GEOL 110
GOVT 380
Introduction to Public Policy
The first part of this course reviews the debate over the proper boundary between governmental and individual decisions through a comparison of economic and democratic mechanisms for making collective choices. The second part of the coruse focuses on the policy making process in the United States, examining in particular how major institutions balance political pressure with expertise. 6 units. Prerequisite: GOVT 110 or consent of instructor
GOVT 465
Environmental Politics
An examination of the politics of environmental policy in the United States, including the organization and demands of the environmental movement and its opponents, the ways in which major actors and institutions in the U.S. system treat environmental issues, and such specific topics as environmental justice and the application of cost-benefit reasoning to environmental policy making. 6 units. Also listed as Environmental Studies 470. Prerequisite: GOVT 380 or consent of instructor
GOVT 495
Health Policy
A seminar addressing present and prospective health care policy in the United States. Emphasis on various contemporary health care problems, including high and rising costs, differences in access to medical service, and trade-offs between cost and quality. Specific topics include Medicare, Medicaid, medical malpractice, profit versus not-only-for-profit producers of care, and alternative delivery systems. 6 units. Also listed as Biomedical Ethics 495. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
PHIL 320
Ethics
An examination of theories about how we should live. Issues include the role of rights, duties and virtues in decision making, the scope of morality, the limits of our obligations to others, and the foundations of morality. 6 units. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 350
Political Philosophy
A seminar examining one topic in political philosophy, typically either distributive justice or war. If the topic is distributive justice, the focus is on different accounts of the just distribution of social benefits and burdens. Issues include the right to health care and other social goods, as well as accounts of the ideals of equality, liberty, and community. If the topic is war, the focus is on political and moral dilemmas of warfare. Issues include war crimes, nuclear deterrence, the status of non-combatants, the use of economic sanctions, and terrorism. 6 units. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 360
Environmental Ethics
An examination of some ethical assumptions that might figure in discussions of environmental policy by economists, legal experts, philosophers, and policy scientists. 6 units. Also listed as Environmental Studies 360. Prerequisite: One course in economics, government, or philosophy; junior standing; or consent of instructor
PHIL 430
Philosophy of Law
An exploration of questions such as: To what extent may a decision in a legal controversy be deemed uniquely correct (as contrasted with an exercise of the judge’s discretion)? What purposes and assumptions underlie branches of the law such as criminal law or torts? What are the functions of precedent? What are the various relationships between morality and the law? 6 units. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PSYC 245
Health Psychology
This course explores the link between mind and body from various psychological perspectives such as social, clinical, and psychobiological. We will survey the role of stress, emotion, self-regulation, and individual differences as predictors of health and illness. We also will examine assessment, diagnostic, treatment, and ethical issues in psychophysiological disorders. 6 units. Also listed as Biomedical Ethics 245. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or sophomore standing
PSYC 250
Psychopathology
A study of the major psychological disorders. Theory and research into the origins of each disorder are examined from a variety of perspectives (psychoanalytic, physiological, cognitive, behavioral, and humanistic). 6 units. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or sophomore standing
PSYC 280
Research Methods I
The first course in a two-term sequence designed to introduce psychology majors to the principles of research design, data collection, data analysis, and research report writing. This term focuses on philosophy of science, the role of theory in research, and research design. Students design an empirical project to be executed during Research Methods II. Sequence should be taken in the sophomore year and in consecutive terms. 6 units. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and MATH 117or MATH 207
PSYC 281
Research Methods II
The second course in a two-term sequence for psychology majors (see Psychology 280). This term focuses on the execution of empirical research projects, analysis of data, inferential and advanced correlational statistics, and interpretation of results. Students complete an empirical project. Sequence should be taken in the sophomore year and in consecutive terms. 6 units. Prerequisite: PSYC 280
Internships
The Mielke Family Foundation, Inc., has endowed the program in biomedical ethics with funds for off-campus internships. Program advisors develop and maintain contacts for students in a variety of aspects of biomedical ethics. Students may, for example, choose to work with clinical geneticists on the production of advanced directives for parents of terminally ill infants, or they may work in a laboratory doing pre-natal or infant genetic screening. Students often work with health-care providers, insurers, or purchasing groups in the Fox Valley or other parts of Wisconsin. Topics might include how to ensure quality when contracting with a managed-care organization, services provided to the uninsured (the character of the safety net), and the effects of competition among managed-care organizations on costs and health outcomes. Often students use their experience in these internships as a basis for their independent-study work.