Sessional Lecturer: PHL382H - Ethics: Death and Dying

Date Posted: 07/12/2025
Req ID: 44252
Faculty/Division: Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Department: Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)

 

SESSIONAL LECTURER for Fall 2025 Term, at .5 FCE – CUPE 3902 Unit 3

 

Course# & Course Title: PHL382H Ethics: Death and Dying

 

Course Description:

This course is an intermediate-level study of ethical, social and legal issues of death and dying with a primary focus on human health, public health and healthcare systems. Key topics include: the definition and determination of death; ethical and ontological implications of new technologies; last chance therapies and ‘right to try’; withholding/ withdrawing of treatment; medical assistance in dying; advance care planning; palliative care; global health ethics; and the implications of artificial intelligence and climate change on death and dying. In this course, students will be exposed to a range of disciplinary perspectives to illuminate the practical and normative complexity of contemporary health policy and practice related to death and dying. Recent judicial decisions, regulatory guidance, and other policy directions will help to inform discussion of the evolving landscape of health policy and practice related to death and dying in Canada and beyond. An overarching theme of the course is the exploration of what comprises a ‘good death’ and why this question matters – to each of us as individuals and as a society. 

 

Course Learning Objectives: 

• To explore philosophical, ethical and legal aspects of human death and dying
• To assess the role of health technologies in creating, mediating, and influencing ethical issues associated with death and dying
• To examine the ethical implications of broader existential concerns globally and locally on human death and dying
• To develop skills in ethical reasoning and analysis on course topics  

 

Estimated course enrolment: 110                  

Estimated TA support: 160 hrs                                                                               

Schedule: Thursdays, 2-5pm                                                                                        

Sessional dates: September 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025                           

 

Salary:    $9,820.70 (Sessional Lecturer I)

                   $10,510.04 (Sessional Lecturer I Long Term)

                   $10,510.04 (Sessional Lecturer II)

                   $10,760.28 (Sessional Lecturer II Long Term)

                   $10,760.28 (Sessional Lecturer III)

                   $11,030.36 (Sessional Lecturer III Long Term)

 

(Salary inclusive of 4% or 6% vacation pay, where applicable)

 

Please note that should rates stipulated in the Collective Agreement vary from rates stated in this posting, the rates stated in the collective agreement shall prevail.

 

Minimum Qualifications: PhD in Philosophy, Bioethics or related field. Advanced knowledge of bioethics theory and its relationship to the course topics required. Experience teaching bioethics in a university setting required.

 

Preferred Qualifications: Experience with the study and application of bioethics theory to practical matters of health care, public health, and/or health policy. Familiarity with diverse disciplinary perspectives on course topics. Previous experience teaching bioethics to undergraduate arts and sciences students.

 

Description of duties: All normal duties related to teaching of a university credit course, including developing and delivering course content; developing and administering assignments; supervising teaching assistants (grad