On the Ethics of Reprogenetically Shaping Children
STS 280
Fall 2026
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01
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Some private companies now offer to prospective parents the option of choosing embryos with the greatest chances of optimizing their future child's traits, from height and weight to "extroversion" and "educational attainment." Other companies hope to offer prospective parents the option of "editing" embryos and fetuses to that same end. Such practices have received scathing criticism from, among others, disability justice theorists. But they have also received ringing endorsements from, among others, libertarians. Our aim in this seminar is to engage the myriad questions raised by those practices. How are they similar to and different from the eugenic practices of the pre-WWII era? To what extent do parents have an ethical obligation to shape their children and/or an obligation to accept them as they are? Are these technologies "tools" that individual parents choose to use to promote their child's flourishing and/or do they constitute a "frame" that determines individual choices? To engage such questions, we will read texts from myriad disciplines, including disability studies, history, bioethics, STS, and philosophy. The only prerequisite is a willingness to carefully read, write, and talk about the assigned texts. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS STS |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Science and Technology Studies) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
| Instructor(s): Parens,Erik F Times: ..T.... 01:20PM-04:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 0 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 5 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 4 | 1st Ranked: 1 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 3 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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