Ethics and Philosophy in Practice (Seminar)

This module introduces ethical theory and practice to promote spatial, social, and ecological justice in complex urban settings. Moving beyond traditional western models of “applied ethics,” which prioritize normative frameworks for moral agents, this seminar prepares students to engage in ethical deliberation across urban ecosystems, especially when the intentions, consequences and actors involved in these systems are uncertain.

Instructors

Salma Belal is an architect and urbanist from and based in Cairo, Egypt. Through her work, Belal seeks to explore different forms of engagement with urban activism, inspired by Cairo’s complex and continuous flux. As a researcher and designer she works on multidisciplinary projects, tackling conservation and built heritage, advocacy for urban justice, and public-space upgrading. Salma is interested in spatial and cultural practices, particularly in how cities are shaped and mediated through politics, space and time. Her experience in teaching Architecture and Urban Design at various academic institutions has also devised her curiosity in exploring alternative pedagogies through collective learning.

Is a historian specializing in the modern Middle East, with research interests in Islamic modernism, Islamic thought, and the social and intellectual history of modern Egypt, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He completed his Master of Arts in Islamic Studies at McGill University, with a thesis titled “Masking Islamist Politics: Pseudo-Authenticity and Producing al-Marʾa al-Muslima in Zaynab al-Ghazālī’s Writings in the Twentieth Century.” Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History at the American University in Cairo and a researcher with the Patterns of Cairo project.