Most of us are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. The United States has often referred to itself as a nation of immigrants; a melting pot. Still, immigration is (and always has been) a hot button issue in this country – whether it was whether to create restrictions in immigration, the process of becoming a citizen, or whether immigrants help or hurt the economy. And, our current times are no different. In the past decade, detentions and deportations of migrants have increased, temporary protective status has been revoked, and DREAMers fight to stay in this country. Political fights about immigration have become deeply partisan, the U.S.-Mexican border has become increasingly militarized, and fights over terms like “illegal” have become normal. How did we get here? What should we do about it? What would a just immigration system even look like?
These are the questions that will frame this special SC Honors section of SC 101. Together, we will explore immigration from many different angles and disciplines (such as criminal justice, culture studies, economics, geography, history, journalism, literature, legal theory, philosophy, psychology, and religious studies), engage with scholars from across these disciplines on and off campus, connect with professionals with expertise in immigration studies, take field trips to enhance our understanding of immigration, participate in service learning opportunities, and conduct our own collective research project on a topic related to immigration chosen by the students of the class. Because this section is for students who have applied for and been accepted to Simpson’s SC Honors Program, there will also be additional co-curricular opportunities with other SC Honors students throughout the term.
Meet Your Professor
Professor of Philosophy
My name is Allison Wolf and I am a Professor of Philosophy here at Simpson College. Though I grew up in Los Angeles, I chose to go to the East Coast for college, where I earned my B.A. from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, in Philosophy. From there, I went to the Great Lakes and earned my master’s degree and Ph.D. in philosophy from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. There I specialized in Applied Ethics and Political Philosophy, focusing on medical ethics and feminist ethics/philosophy. My research continues to focus in those areas. Recently, I have published an article on potential responses to health care injustices arising from homophobia in medicine in the anthology, Queer Philosophy published as part of Rodopi’s Value Inquiry Book Series. In addition, an article I co-authored (with Jennifer Benson) on the ways in which new mothers have been wrongly ignored in childbirth literature has recently been published in Philosophical Inquiries into Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Mothering: Maternal Subjects as part of Routledge’s Series in Contemporary Philosophy. Currently, my research includes feminist ethics, medical ethics (especially issues in the ethics of childbirth), the ethics and globalization and development (especially in the context of Latin America and Costa Rica in particular), and the philosophy of race. To that end, I am working on a chapter on “Feminism and Bioethics” for a new encyclopedia, reviewing a new book on childbirth ethics for the American Philosophical Association’s Feminism and Philosophy Newsletter, as well as on a series of articles on ethical issues in childbirth. I am also open to bringing students in on these projects.
In addition to my passion for teaching philosophy, I am very committed to helping students increase their philosophical abilities and knowledge by studying internationally. Before coming to Simpson, I assisted on a Study Abroad program in Costa Rica, which focused on Costa Rica’s health care system and related issues in medical ethics. Since coming to Simpson, I have led 4 May Term courses in Ethics of Globalization in Costa Rica as well as two courses on Ethics of Ecotourism, which will go for the second time in May 2018. I also lead a Study Abroad semester in Argentina. I look forward to expanding the Study Abroad offerings of the philosophy department in years to come.
I am very interested in helping students challenge themselves and broaden their personal and professional horizons through the study and application of philosophy and ethics. I want students to do more than just study what philosophers have said; I want students to do philosophy. That is one of many reasons that I worked with my colleague John Pauley to create both the philosophy minor with a concentration in ethics and the major in Applied Philosophy (the only one in the state of Iowa). I became a philosopher because I wanted to better understand the world so that I could help create solutions to the problems facing our world; I want to help students do the same by learning to ask their own questions, do their own research, and propose their own philosophically sound ideas. I do this in my teaching, advising, community service and campus service projects. I enthusiastically welcome the opportunity to work with students of all backgrounds and interests who like to learn, be challenged and explore themselves and their world.
Meet Your SC Leader
Hey Everyone!
My name is Enrique Idehen and I will be the SC Leader for Dr. Allison Wolf’s “Just” Immigration class! I will be a sophomore in the 2018-2019 school year and will be majoring in Pre-Physcial Therapy and minoring in Economics and Spanish.
Some things about me: I was born in Madrid, Spain but spent most of my life in Urbandale, Iowa. I am the oldest of four children and I enjoy spending time with my family. In high school, I participated in basketball, choir, and was captain of the soccer team. I work for Vector Marketing as a sales representative. I enjoy watching movies, hanging out with my friends, traveling, listening to music, and eating food. I am a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the Simpson Democrats, the Multicultural Student Alliance, Simpson Intramurals, and the soccer team.
If you have any questions or need to contact me, you can reach me by my school email: enrique.idehen@my.simpson.edu, and feel free to add me on Twitter as well. I can’t wait to meet the group and see all of you at registration! Roll Storm!
Meet Your Writing Fellow
Soon!