Bioethics is concerned with our understanding of our relationship to life itself. The extent to which we as a species are willing to share the planet with other life forms will be determined by how we use our biotechnologies. Such concerns go well beyond the analytic and scientific and have serious implications for the political, economic, and the social in the broadest sense.  With the rise of biotechnologies, human beings now have the power to manipulate life at its most fundamental level.  Controversies over the possibilities of designer babies and embryo manipulation, genetically modified organisms and the alteration of existing species, cloning, and gene editing and synthetic biology, as well as the ability to create totally new life forms, are too often resolved economically for the sake of profit. Human beings have become like gods with the power of life and death over all life on earth.  Whether we can use this power wisely is the critical question.  What it means to be a person and the very essence of our humanity is at stake.  How we should deploy these awesome new powers over life itself is the topic of bioethics.  Social Science and History (SSHIS) courses develop students' critical thinking skills through the study of history and the social sciences (e.g. sociology, psychology, economics, political science, anthropology, geography), as well as through contemporary interdisciplines that draw heavily on these fields (e.g. feminist and queer studies, media studies, urban studies, ethnic studies). Subject matter in these courses contributes to students' cultural literacy while instructional materials and classroom assignments introduce basic research problems and techniques.

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