Helen Bishop

We met the neighborhood divorcée, Helen Bishop, in the last episode. What's your opinion about the following questions:

• In what ways is Helen different from the other ladies in her neighborhood?
• Why do the housewives treat her so passive-aggressively?
• What is it about her status as a single lady that threatens the wives so much?

Episode 3 - Marriage of Figaro

In this episode we saw many representations of marriages. Pick a few characters and compare and contrast their attitudes toward marriage. What does that institution mean to them?

Medical Ethics - Scenario 1

Thanks to the students who have checked out the blog and started replying!

For the rest of you, maybe you'd like some questions that are a little more focused. So here goes! The following are a series of hypothetical situations about deciding on medical treatment for family members. I would like to you to pick one of the scenarios and decide what you would do if you were facing the same situation.

Scenario 1) 

Your mother is starting to develop Alzheimer’s and often forgets where she’s going, what task she’s working on, and sometimes where she lives. She does NOT want to enter an assisted living home but she lives in another city hours away from you and needs constant attention.

Medical Ethics - Scenario 2

Scenario 2) 
Your husband suffers from a very serious heart condition but won’t take his medicines because the side effects are unpleasant and sometimes physically uncomfortable for him. Without the medicines, the fragile state of his heart makes him susceptible to heart failure at any moment.

Medical Ethics - Scenario 3

Scenario 3)

Your son is getting into trouble at school at least once a week for serious classroom disciplinary problems. The school officials tell you he has a hyperactivity disorder, and that to stay in his class he must be medicated. He has always been a rambunctious, energetic, creative person, but since he started taking the pills his personality seems to have changed completely and now he seems almost like a stranger to you.

medical ethics

In episode 2 we saw the rather uncomfortable level of power that Don has over his family's access to health care. Do you think it's ever okay to decide on the medical treatment that a family member receives?

• If not, explain why. 

• If yes, in what situations or circumstances?

Questions from Episode 2

Hi Students,

I hope you've been enjoying our viewings of Mad Men, and that at the very least, they're proving thought-provoking, or giving you some questions about US history and culture.

Here are a few questions to reflect on and respond to episode 2, Ladies Room:

1) What makes the the Ladies Room a significant or sacred place? What do we see happening there, specifically in terms of Peggy's character development?

2) What challenges are Peggy and Betty facing in this episode? Do you think that young women face the same pressures and fears today?