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The Prindle Institute is committed to a wide variety of ethics-related programming. It initiates programs on the Institute site but also supports or co-sponsors ethics-related events which are hosted by various departments, programs and organizations on campus. If you would like to include an ethics-related event which your group is sponsoring on this list of upcoming events, please contact Martha Rainbolt, rainbolt@depauw.edu.

Guidelines for co-sponsored ethics-related events

To receive e-mail notifications of events sponsored by The Prindle Institute, submit your e-mail address to prindleinstitute@depauw.edu.

PUBLIC EVENTS

CONVERSATION: "tOUCHDOWN OR PERSONAL FOUL" -- FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Superbowl Sunday is one of the most expensive advertising days of the year. This year, a few ads are causing discussion even before they have been aired: namely, a pro-life Tim Tebow ad (which CBS has decided to air) and a gay dating service ad (which CBS has opted not to air). The Prindle interns are sponsoring a discussion of the ethical issues involved in advertising, with a particular focus on these two ads. The goal is to generate meaningful thought and discussion about the competing values that exist in media and society at large by examining the ethical issues contained in these ads and CBS's decision about which ads to air and which to exclude. The discussion will take place Tuesday, February 9 at
11:45 a.m. in the Union Building, Terrace Rooms B & C. Everyone is welcome to bring lunch and eat during the discussion.

For more information, please contact the Prindle interns at prindleinstitute@depauw.edu.

Lecture: Jeffrey Kripal -- February 22-23, 2010

World-renowned scholar of religion Jeffrey J. Kripal, the J. Newton Ryazor Chair in Religious Studies at Rice University, will deliver talks titled, "Ethics, Trauma and Mystical States", "Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion," and "Authors of the Impossible: Reading the Paranormal Writing Us."

For more information, please contact Jason Fuller at jfuller@depauw.edu.

Open Class: "A Conversation with Dr. Dena Plemmons" -- March 2, 2010

Dr. Dena Plemmons is chair of the Committee on Ethics of the American Anthropological Association (AAA).  The AAA is currently gathering information to revise its Code of Ethics. Dr. Plemmons will discuss some of the emerging issues that seem to call for a revision, and she will be happy to field questions about ethics in social science research in general. This event will be held in the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, Watson Forum, 7 - 9 p.m.

Art Exhibit: "cOMMUNIST tOUR OF moMA" by Yevgeniy Fiks -- mARCH 4-26, 2010

In an installation that consists of works on paper, reenacted speeches (circa 1950s) by former US Congressman from Michigan George A. Dondero, and modified MoMA publications, Moscow-born and New York-based Post-Soviet artist Yevgeniy Fiks will feature Modern artists who identified as Communists or had Communists ties in a show entitled "Communist Tour of MoMa." This project departs from the history of Modern Art and MoMA as subjects of investigations during the McCarthy era and essentially brings to our attention the role of MoMA in defining Modern Art away from the modern artists' political ideologies.

Lecture: "Responsibilities of the Post-Soviet Artist" by Yevgeniy Fiks, Thursday,
March 4, 7 p.m., location tba.

In his talk entitled, "Responsibilities of the Post-Soviet Artist," giving examples of his own art practice, Fiks will discuss the conceptual framework of addressing the Soviet experience today--after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Fiks will highlight the question of historical responsibility as fundamental to the construction of the post-Soviet discourse. Fiks will give a special focus to the historical context of this project "Communist Tour of MoMA."

Opening Reception: March 5, 7 p.m., Low Road Gallery

Fiks' visit is made possible with the support of DePauw's Art Department, Communications Department, Conflict Studies Department, Feminista!, The Low Road Gallery, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, The Prindle Institute for Ethics, Russian Studies Department, the Student Arts Council, and United DePauw.

For more information, please contact Marc Climaco at mjclimaco@gmail.com.

Lecture: "Recapturing Family Values from the Religious Right" by
Henry Rosemont -- March 8, 2010

Dr. Henry Rosemont will speak on Monday, March 8, at 4:15 p.m. in the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, Watson Forum.

This lecture is being supported by the Ann and David Johnson Speaker Fund for the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics.

For more information, please contact Martha Rainbolt at rainbolt@depauw.edu.

Colloquium: "From Slavery to Freedom: John Hope Franklin and the Road Ahead" -- March 12 - 13, 2010

Counted among the leading black intellectuals of the twentieth century, the historian John Hope Franklin (1915-2009) described, analyzed, and theorized the history of African-Americans in the United States and the New World. In particular he raised the fundamental question concerning how some people treat others in bold contradiction to the proposed ideas central to the nature of the American constitution.  John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History and pioneering African American historian “passed over” on March 26, 2009, working to the very end as a celebrated professor at Duke University. Six decades after he wrote it, his From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans (1947) is still considered the definitive text of the Black experience in America.

Keynote Address: “John Hope Franklin, Slavery and the Future of Race in America” by Professor Orlando Patterson, John Cowles Professor of Sociology, Harvard University, Friday, March 12, 7 p.m. Meharry Hall.

Dr. Orlando Patterson, an outstanding sociologist and scholar, with national and international repute, will deliver the keynote address, “John Hope Franklin, Slavery and the Future of Race in America.” Amongst other things, the social and historical dimensions of his work as a sociologist, novelist, New York Times columnist, and more, are directly related to the ethical issues Dr. John Hope Franklin raised in a lifetime of scholarship, teaching, and social activism.  Particular mention should be made of Dr. Patterson’s publications such as Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study, Freedom in the Making of Western Culture, The Ordeal of Integration, Rituals of Blood, Children of Sisyphus, and The Sociology of Slavery.  His work as a sociologist transcends intellectual boundaries in terms of the level of their intellectual sophistication, to say the least.   The lecture and colloquium is open to all members of the DePauw and Greencastle communities, as well as the general public, GLCA and other colleges, and the surrounding Indiana community.  Dr. Patterson will be happy to sign copies of his works after the keynote address.

Plenary Session: "Race and the Future of the American Classroom," Saturday, March 13,
9 a.m.-noon, The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics

The session will begin with continental breakfast from 9:00-9:30 a.m., followed by the actual session, 9:30-11:30 a.m., led by a panel of DePauw faculty.  The entire session will conclude by noon.

This event is co-sponsored by the Black Studies Program at DePauw University, the Office of the President, the Office of Multicultural and Community Life, and The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics.

For more information, please contact Leslie James at ljames@depauw.edu.

LECTURE: Dr. Mohammed Abu Nimer -- March 2010

Dr. Mohammed Abu Nimer will explore the nexus of religion and peace-building and bring a broader perspective on conflict practice to DePauw. Details forthcoming.

For more information, please contact Jeremy Rinker at jeremyrinker@depauw.edu.

Lecture: David Burrell -- April 7, 2010

Dr. David Burrell, Hesburgh Chair of Theology and Philosophy, Kampala, Uganda, will talk about the "Jewish, Christian, Muslim Exchange."

For more information, please contact Nahyan Fancy at nahyanfancy@depauw.edu and P.T. Wilson at ptwilson@depauw.edu.

Undergraduate Ethics Symposium -- April 8-10, 2010

 

Lecture: Joseph Kupfer -- April 19-20, 2010

Dr. Joseph Kupfer, University Professor of Philosophy, Iowa State University, will deliver two lectures during his visit to DePauw, one on ethical issues raised in popular film and one on virtue theory.

For more information, please contact Richard Lippke at richardlippke@depauw.edu.

sYMPOSIUM: jOURNALISM and sENSEMAKING -- aPRIL 25-27, 2010

For more information, please contact Bob Steele at robertsteele@depauw.edu.

PRIVATE EVENTS

Faculty Reading Groups:

1. Black Skin, White Masks -- Will meet on three Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. throughout the fall semester.

Led by Julie Hollowell, the Schaenen Visiting Scholar, the group will discuss Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks. Frantz Fanon, a practicing psychoanalyst from Martinique, is often said to be the author who initiated intellectual critique of colonialism. Black Skin, White Masks, written in 1952 by Fanon, is in essence a study of psychological and social effects of colonization on humanity, including the role of class, race, gender, language, and cultural consciousness. It has had, and continues to have, a major influence on human rights, anti-colonial, and black consciousness movements around the world.

For more information, please contact Julie Hollowell, at juliahollowell@depauw.edu.

2. Universal Grammar of Religion -- November 10, December 2, and February 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Prior to the visit of Henry Rosemont March 7-10, 2010, The Prindle Institute will host three reading group sessions. Terri Bonebright, Professor of Psychology, will join these discussions, the first focusing on selections from Stephen Pinker's The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. Pinker describes language as Noam Chomsky conceptualizes it. At the second and third sessions, the group will discuss Rosemont's Is There A Universal Grammar of Religion?

For more information, please contact Martha Rainbolt at rainbolt@depauw.edu.

3. The Colonial and post-Colonial Worlds of CLR James -- February 11 and April 22 at 7 p.m.

Robert Dewey will lead discussion on two different texts by author C.L.R. James. Minty Alley, which analyzes social class, colonialism, education, and everyday lives in Trinidad will be discussed in the spring of 2010. In the fall 2010 semester, the group will read and discuss Beyond a Boundary, a reflection on cricket as an emblem of British imperialism, its re-appropriation by West Indians and site of resistance.

For more information, please contact Robert Dewey at rdewey@depauw.edu.

4. The work of Alvin Plantinga -- February 9, March 2, and April 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Professor Alvin Plantinga of the University of Notre Dame is the preeminent philosopher of religion working today. Marcia McKelligan and Erik Wielenberg will lead discussion on some of Professor Plantinga's more accessible works before his visit to DePauw on April 13, 2010. In Dr. Plantinga's long career he has written about such vital issues as the existence of God, the problem of evil, and free will.

For more information, please contact Marcia McKelligan at mamck@depauw.edu or Erik Wielenberg at ewielenberg@depauw.edu.

5. David Sloan Wilson’s Evolution for Everyone -- February 17, March 3 & 17 and April 7 at 7 p.m.

David Sloan Wilson is a world-renowned evolutionary biologist who is coming to DePauw during the spring semester in support of our participation in the new EvoS (evolutionary studies) consortium. He will also be one of the keynote speakers for the Prindle Institute’s Undergraduate Ethics Symposium. Wilson’s argument in Evolution for Everyone is that the evolutionary framework can inspire original insights in every sphere of knowledge. Rick Lippke and Darrell LaLone will lead discussion of Wilson's book that is chock full of case studies in evolutionary thinking—the hypotheses it generates and the efforts by scientists to confirm them. As one reviewer commented, his work is “A mind- stretching and unforgettable synthesis of biology, psychology, religion, and politics, [his] engrossing story is evolutionary biology at its very best.”

6. The Nature of Moral Judgment - dates to be announced.

Erik Wielenberg and Bruce Serlin will partner to lead group discussion on two seminal works by a leader in the field of neuronal-based moral judgment, Jonathan Haidt.  Haidt and his colleagues have developed a model of the processes that produce human moral judgments called the “Social Intuitionist Model” (SIM).  The goal here is to introduce members of the group to SIM and some of the evidence for it and to consider how the evidence fits or doesn’t fit into their world view.  Individuals will be encouraged to bring materials they feel support their thinking on this topic and try understanding why various opinions are held.

For more information, contact Erik Wielenberg at ewielenberg@depauw.edu or Bruce Serlin at dance @depauw.edu.