(350-500 words; approximately 1 page per essay)

The midterm is an  in-class time-limited open-book exam that consists of  two essay questions (use APA style for citations). You can work on these in advance. Plan to complete your final editing and/or writing during class on Wednesday February 8. The exam is due at 11:50 AM that day.

1. The first question asks you to reflect on a journal you will keep from the beginning of the quarter to the midterm (based on the approaches to ethical reasoning we will read about and discuss in class, you are to make at least two entries each week that reflect on a decision you made and how you came to make that decision, e.g., did you use utilitarian or deontological reasoning?). You won’t be asked for specifics about the decisions you made, but rather about how you made decisions, what influenced your decision-making process, and what you think now (several weeks later) about the outcome. You are to reflect on each of the eight approaches to ethical reasoning in this essay. The goal of this essay is to demonstrate your discipline in keeping a journal of self-reflection, your fluency with the concepts of ethical reasoning, your awareness of when and how you made ethical decisions (no matter how big or small), and your ability to take pride in at least some of your ethical reasoning as it aligns with your personal aspirations. Approximately 150-200 words. Allot no more than 45 minutes for your wrapup session.

2. The second question is more challenging. You will draw on  three of the seven discussion posts that you have written during the first weeks of the quarter (e.g., CRT 1, Privacy 1, MetaEthics) and  one of the media ethics case studies presented during the class. Identify a  theme that is a thread between all of these (e.g. you can discuss how virtue ethics plays out in relation to each topic discussed in the posts, or how consequentialist and ethics of care approaches come into conflict with one another in each topic, or how an Ubuntu approach to each of the topics discussed in the posts would change or challenge the discussion, to give you some examples). Incorporate a reference to at least  three of your peer’s discussion posts (select one post for each of the three discussion topics you’re choosing to write on). The goal of this essay is to demonstrate your fluency with the concepts of ethical reasoning, your ability to identify themes across cases, and your ability to synthesize a variety of written materials into one argument (Reminder: All  seven of your own posts must be completed and posted by February 1). 200-300 words. Allot 1 hour for your wrapup session.

The Midterm is worth 20% of your grade. The P/F materials on which the Midterm relies (journal, discussion posts, class presentations) are worth another 10% of your grade.  If you do not complete the 7 P/F reflections prior to Feb 1 11:59 PM you will have compromised your peers’ ability to complete the second essay question. You therefore will be disqualified from taking the midterm exam and you will be instructed to withdraw from the course and take it again in the spring.