Splash Biography

How do we define the beginning and end of a human life? What sets humans apart from other living things? These questions, though at first it seems as though they have obvious answers, have been debated for centuries, and their answers have been constantly changing. The answers to these questions define who deserves certain rights and liberties, and who is excluded. We will look at issues such as abortion as well as life-support (think Terry Schiavo), and we will attempt to define what makes a living human being.

There is no shortage of examples in history of when masses of people have entered the streets to shout, break things, and cause overall chaos. This course seeks to explain the theories underlying such civil unrest. Are there any factors that are present at most, if not all, incidences of rioting? Is there any way to predict the time and place of the next major riot? We will look at a diverse set of examples: racial riots, sports riots, political riots, we will examine as many as we can. Students should hope to come way with a better understanding of why and how people have taken to the streets in such violent manners.

How do we define the beginning and end of a human life? What sets humans apart from other living things? These questions, though at first it seems as though they have obvious answers, have been debated for centuries, and their answers have been constantly changing. The answers to these questions define who deserves certain rights and liberties, and who is excluded. We will look at issues such as abortion as well as life-support (think Terry Schiavo), and we will attempt to define what makes a living human being.