Overall, an engaging course taught by a great course that will teach you a lot about philosophical thinking and its application to the real world. I would recommend doing the readings because they help you to participate in class discussion knowledgeably.
From the perspective of learning a lot about various perspectives on ethics, this was a great course. Don't get too bogged down on the reading; you can get by not doing most of it. Worth noting that attendance is compulsory (1 free skip, after that you go down a 1/3 grade for every unexcused absence). Hurst is excellent at explaining things and the class discussion is lively so going isn't too bad anyway. There are 8 response papers, which are mysteriously graded with either a check or a check-plus - she says these can be as a result of her mood or our performance. 20% is participation, which is pretty important and can get competitive. I don't know how the class is curved but you can bet on an A- if you put in a decent effort and participate. If you're gunning for an A, though, there are probably easier profs to get one from.
This is a great class that does not necessarily focus on religion. Professor Hurst is awesome and keeps you engaged. The readings are really interesting and she applies them to real life situations. There's 8 one page response papers, a midterm and final. Not too bad of a workload. Definitely take this class
