PHL 205 - CONTEMPORARY MORAL ISSUES
  EXAM 3 REVIEW
SPRING 2012
Available Th 5/24 at 3pm to Th 5/31 at 7pm
You must arrive one hour before closing time!

FEMINISM (Handouts)

Are there any innate biological differences between men and women which affects their behavior or abilities to perform certain jobs? Why is it that patriarchy lasted so long? What pivotal social changes or historical events laid the groundwork for women's rights, apart from political activism on the part of suffragettes and feminists? What are some positive impacts and criticisms of the feminist movement in the U.S.? How are women's rights different in the West than elsewhere?

It is often claimed that the fact that women on the average make 70 cents on the dollar compared to men is evidence of overt sexism and institutional discrimination against women. What are some other explanations for the "wage gap" and "glass ceiling" other than overt sexism discussed in class and in the John Stossel reading? How does Stossel argue that blaming wage differences in sexual discrimination makes no economic sense?

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

In general, what do affirmative action laws say must be done in college admissions, employment and the awarding of government contracts? How are they different from mere anti-discrimination laws? Who is subject to these laws? (all government agencies? all private businesses? both? only certain government agencies or particular kinds of companies?) What are some examples of actions required by government agencies, businesses and schools to meet affirmative action requirements?

Which groups are targeted for special treatment by affirmative action? Which groups are not? What arguments are given in favor of Affirmative Action by Mosley? What is the difference between backward-looking and forward-looking justifications for Affirmative Action? What are the arguments against affirmative action presented by Pojman? What is a Meritocracy? What is the difference between strong and weak forms of Affirmative Action in Pojman? What are some harmful effects of Affirmative Action policies discussed in class and in Pojman?

Why does Thomas Sowell call Affirmative Action for blacks a "grand fraud"? What are his arguments against it? What was the California Civil Rights Initiative (Proposition 209)? When official race-based preferences were ended in the University of California system, what was the results for African-American students?

How do black immigrants from Nigeria, Jamaica and the Caribbean fare compared with the native black population in academic and economic performance?  What are some other explanations for differences in academic and economic achievement among African-Americans besides overt discrimination or genetic differences discussed in class and cited by John McWhorter in his book Losing the Race? How might the academic and economic achievement levels of Asian immigrants support the type of explanations for racial disparity offered by McWhorter? How do blacks, Hispanics, whites and Asians rank in rates of incarceration, academic performance and out of wedlock births? What explanations were suggested by the instructor for these differences?

If you account for the higher single parenthood rate and the fact that more blacks live in the South, where wages (but also cost of living) are lower, what happens to the disparities between the wages of blacks and whites?


DIVERSITY AND ACADEMIC BIAS (Handouts)

What arguments in favor of "rethinking diversity" does the instructor give in his article? What personal anecdotes from his experience at LCC did he cite? What does he mean when he discusses diversity's "Balkanizing influence"? How does he argue that an inordinate focus on racial or ethnic identity and past discrimination divide people rather than bring them together? What notion of diversity does he support? What does the American Anthropological Association say about race?

What is the general political makeup of academia? What are some examples of academic bias cited by David Horowitz? What reasons does Horowitz give for believing that the present practices in academia are an offense to the spirit of free inquiry and violate the Constitution? What does the National Association of Scholars have to say about issues of race class and gender and the inclusion of non-Western work and work by minorities and women in campus curriculum? How does Peter Schwartz argue that the concept of diversity is itself a racist notion?

What does "Diversity" mean when used by LCC or other educational institutions or by government or industry? Does it mean skin color or national origin, or does it mean diversity of opinion and point of view? What are problems associated with a racially, ethnically and culturally mixed society? Besides making people race-conscious and aware of past and present discrimination against various groups, what other approach did the instructor suggest may in the long run prove more successful?