3rd Annual Ethics Art Cafe TONIGHT

The Third Annual Ethics Art Café is an Ethics and the Arts Symposium held each fall by Emory’s Ethics and the Arts Society in partnership with Wonderroot Community Arts (Voted Best Advocate for the Arts and Best Public Art Project by Creative Loafing).

Bringing artists from eclectic backgrounds together under the umbrella of ethics, the event explores the intersection between creativity and ethics, and the role art plays in inspiring positive social change.

Exciting performances and presentations from Atlanta artists:

Alice Lovelace
Dr. Debra Vidali & the Re-Generation Initiative
April AP Smith
Jeff Mather
Hamzat Sani
Karen Shacham
Paula Larke
Voices in the Treetops' C.U.L.T.U.R.E

The Café will run as a fundraiser for Voices in the Treetops,  a non-profit organization with literary and performing arts programs for children, teens and adults.



All funds raised at the Café will go towards the development of Voices in the Treetops' music program for young Burmese refugee.

Where: Emory Center for Ethics, 1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322 

Free parking in the Peavine parking lot near the The Center for Ethics

What time: 7-9 PM 

Price: The event is FREE with suggested donations

Welcome Our Inaugural Neuroethics Scholars!

It is with great pleasure that the Emory Neuroethics Program announces its inaugural neuroethics scholars!  

The Neuroethics Program invited graduate students to create and to join collaborative, interdepartmental faculty teams at Emory and in the Atlanta community to pursue Neuroethics scholarship.  Graduate students were free to propose projects of interest to them. Proposals included innovative ideas in the arena of teaching, empirical research, new media, and beyond. By the completion of their one year appointments, each scholar is expected to co-author a paper and present his/her work.  The selection process was quite competitive. Abstracts of their proposed projects can be found at The Neuroethics Blog.
 

Cyd Cipolla and Kristina Gupta, graduate students in Women's Studies at Emory

Jason Shepard, a graduate student in Psychology at Emory

 Congratulations and welcome to the Center for Ethics family!

"The Ethics of Designer Brains": Interview with Paul Root Wolpe on Big Think

Director of Emory's Center for Ethics talks about the ethics of designer brains on Big Think.

"Our values as a society will determine which psychopharmaceuticals and (down the road) which genetic enhancement technologies we choose to develop and how we use them.
That's what concerns Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, senior Bioethicist at NASA and a pioneer in the field of neuroethics. Peering into his children's and grandchildren's future, he sees an America that rewards competitiveness and productivity over relationship-building, and suspects that future generations will face intense pressure to enhance their minds and bodies in unhealthy ways.
The politics of technophilia vs technophobia aside, our power to manipulate our brains and genes is increasing dramatically – and it raises serious ethical questions."

Lie Detection and the Jury

Emory Associate Professor of Law, Julie Seaman, discusses neuroimaging, lie detection, and the jury on The Neuroethics Blog.

"And brain-based lie detection, as one of the most alluring areas of imaging research, has in particular come in for a great deal of hand-wringing. These portents of doom are perhaps even more premature than would be the use of fMRI “polygraphy” as evidence.  Worrying now about that prospect is a bit like throwing out the bathwater before the baby has even gotten into the tub. "  Click to read more.

 

Like The Neuroethics Program on Facebook or visit The Neuroethics Program Page.

Former EASL Student and Team present to Mayor Reed as Finalist for Sustainability Competition

         

         Above is a 0.8 acre vacant plot of land across the street from Atlanta’s City Hall. Now imagine this lot turned into a vibrant urban farm.  The future of the lot will be shaped by the winner of the Trinity Avenue Farm Design Competition.  This competition is being hosted by The City of Atlanta and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives and is sponsored by Wal-Mart.  The mission is to use this plot as a conduit for establishing “an effective and aspirational model for urban agriculture within Atlanta communities.”

Sketch from proposal for Trinity Avenue
Farm Design Competition.

            The winner will be announced on December 5^th.  Andrew Tate, Emory graduate and EASL alum, and his team have made it into the final round. Tate has spent his whole life in Atlanta. He said, “a lot of what I did at Emory, minoring in Environmental Studies with a joint major in Anthropology and Religion, focused on the culture of sustainability and the emerging environmental ethic globally, nationally and locally.” He is interested in the ways sustainability is becoming mainstream and is getting recognized for myriad economic and public health benefits informing resilient green infrastructure and urban planning.   

Emory In the World Magazine (Spring 2011)
Featuring Story about Tate's journey to Freiburg.

            During his senior year, Tate studied abroad in Freiburg, Germany. One of the ‘greenest’ cities in Europe and the world, Tate noticed the “sustainability initiatives in Freiburg such as light rail public transit, sprawl limitations, renewable energy, and community gardening encourage a network of thriving, more livable neighborhoods.” Freiburg is designed and retrofitted for sustainability and, upon his return, Tate wanted to bring as many of those ideas that he could back to Atlanta. 

            After reading the public service announcement from the Mayor’s office about Trinity, Tate had a chance encounter with the director of operations at the Goat Farm Arts Center (and founder of Fresh Roots Farm), and a team began to form. Tate recalls, “from the competition description they were very clear in that they wanted a productive farm on the site, but they wanted it to be a place that was really focused on education and community engagement. In order for it to be truly sustainable it’s got to be enjoyed and sustained by the diverse Atlanta community.” Tate’s main role in creating the project proposal was developing programming for a number of diverse and effective community actors such as, Trinity Community Ministries and WondeRoot. His goal was that the land would “not only be shovel ready in the physical sense but that there are partners standing by to use the resources of the farm to the benefit of the community.”

            Not only is the farm strategic in bringing affordable fresh produce into nearby food deserts, it also serves as an educational resource, a sustainability demonstration site, and a symbol of community, culture and art.  The community organizations and the winning team will carry out the success of the farm, and Tate’s team is a diverse group consisting of landscape designers, urban farmers, rainwater collection experts, solar energy planners, architects, students, artists, and entrepreneurs.  Tate emphasized, “Our project is well thought-out on the technical side, but art is purposely central; as it’s been seen in numerous neighborhoods throughout Atlanta, public art is a collaborative way to challenge Atlantans to reflect on the places they inhabit.  This ongoing reflection, when coupled with strategic sustainable redevelopment and community engagement, opens up the possibilities for genuine, people-driven revitalization and local economic development.  Community gardening in particular has a long history in Atlanta, and our design will build on that existing ethic.”   Tate, his team, and the Mayor’s office are showing urban dwellers everywhere, especially in Atlanta, that we have the power to build happier, healthier communities.

Andrew Tate (left) and team present proposal to Mayor Kasim Reed as part of the Trinity Avenue Farm Design Competition.

Keep government out of mind-reading business - Paul Wolpe Featured on CNN Belief Blog

My Take: Keep government out of mind-reading business

Editor's Note: Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D., is director of Emory University’s Center for Ethics.

(CNN) – “My thoughts, they roam freely. Who can ever guess them?”

So goes an old German folk song. But imagine living in a world where someone can guess your thoughts, or even know them for certain. A world where science can reach into the deep recesses of your brain and pull out information that you thought was private and inaccessible.

Would that worry you?

If so, then start worrying. The age of mind reading is upon us.

Neuroscience is advancing so rapidly that, under certain conditions, scientists can use sophisticated brain imaging technology to scan your brain and determine whether you can read a particular language, what word you are thinking of, even what you are dreaming about while you are asleep.

Read Complete Article On: 

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/12/my-take-keep-government-out-of-mind-reading-business/

Spike Lee Reflects on Race at Emory University

          

              With a laid back demeanor and as he puts it, a “Brooklyn” attitude in addressing audience members, Spike Lee shared powerful stories and ideas as reflections on race. Lee, an educator, writer, family man, and a forerunner in the “do it yourself” film movement, spoke Wednesday night at the 12^thAnnual State of Race lecture. The event, which filled the Glenn Memorial Auditorium to capacity, was organized by the 56^th College Council and co-sponsored by the Center for Ethics and the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services.

           Lee began by describing race as “the big elephant in the room” that is always “bubbling under the surface.” He laid out examples of the fact that it takes major news stories to blow it up. He made clear that “until we deal with slavery” and what happened to native Americans, we won’t be able to truly address conflicts about race as they exist today. 

          Lee spent much of his time addressing education or “re-education,” as he puts it.  The re-education happens when we augment mainstream schooling with understandings about race.  In his life and work, and in his words, he embodies the use of media to overcome ignorance. Education, Lee believes, is the key, although the mistake of “equating intelligence with acting white” can be detrimental to the entire process. He encouraged us all to take some responsibility for our own education.  To do this, and to face reality with honesty that is sometimes difficult, takes self-reliance and self-determination.

            Threaded throughout the speech were stories from the sets of his films. The skin color differences that School Daze addresses actually happened on the set when skin color became a conflict of interest. Lee reflected that these “superficial differences” prevent “the black community from being a more unified people.” With these stories, Lee illustrated how art imitates life and can go beyond imitation to be a conduit for social change.

              Through film, Spike Lee has stirred interest and sparked conversations about race that never would have happened and his  words have left us with a bounty of fodder for continued dialogue. It was our privilege to be in the presence of such a preeminent film-maker, leader and educator.

Spike Lee. TONIGHT. 0 Tickets Left.

State of Race 2011

An Annual Conversation

Hosted by the 56th College Council

Featuring Oscar-Nominated Director

SPIKE LEE

Sponsored by the Center for Ethics

and the

Office of Multicultural Programs and Services

Join us for an evening of film portraying stories of soccer and migration from the Sahel...

Screened at film festivals around the world, Le Pèlerin de Camp Nou (commonly known as Captain Majid), is a drama about a Chadian soccer player who falls into a downward spiral of drugs and lost dreams. 


Director Bentley Brown will present Captain Majid to be followed by news on his upcoming project, Faisal Goes West. Refugee Family Services will join us for a discussion on this latest feature - the story of a Sudanese family who leaves the city of Khartoum for the Texas countryside. 

Brown is an Emory graduate ('09) who grew up in Ati, Chad. He has spent the past two years as a 
political observer with The Carter Center in Sudan.

This screening is a partnership between the Ethics & the Arts Initiative and the Office of Religious Life.

A Father and Son Bring Together Medicine, Ethics, and Art

Timothy Archibald displays images from Echolilia at Emory Center for Ethics

When Brian McGrath Davis—photographer, Emory University graduate student, and exhibit curator—first saw the photos in this exhibit he knew they needed to come to Emory’s campus.  The photos documenting the deepening relationship between Timothy Archibald and his autistic son Elijah moved Brian powerfully and needed to be shared.

  Drawn from the award winning book  Echolilia, the photographs represent a collaboration between Archibald and Elijah, now eight years old, and were brought to campus through the work of Davis and Carlton Mackey, Chair of the Center for Ethics’ Ethics and the Arts Initiative.
When Elijah’s parents first realized he had symptoms of autism, they, like many other parents, were forced to come to terms with heart wrenching challenges. Photography became a bonding activity for Mr. Archibald and Eli that opened their lines of communication.

Ethics director moderates conversation with Timothy and Eli

  At the exhibit’s opening Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, Director of the Center for Ethics, facilitated a public conversation with the artist noting that the photographs “represent the relationship between father and son.”  Davis elaborated upon this by noting that the photographs reflect this distinctive relationship acknowledging that, “if someone else had taken the photos of the boy, they would have taken them differently.”  The exhibit vividly “represents the intersection between ethics and art,” says Mackey.  “Creative expression, enabled by photography, allowed the father and son to experience the complexities of autism through a new lens.”

Dr. Ami Klin offers introductory remarks.

Davis, who he admits that he usually isn’t “drawn to pictures of children,” was captivated by these shots.  He contacted the artist and began pulling together the support and funding necessary to bring them to Atlanta.  This required an extensive network of organizations including Atlanta Celebrates Photography, Dr. Bill Eley and the Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta’s Marcus Autism Center, and the Emory Center for Ethics.  Davis was inspired by how diverse organizations on campus and around Atlanta came together for this event “even if they didn’t directly benefit.” 
The benefits were made clear throughout the various events when, for example, medical students where able to ask questions and receive candid answers about autism. Also, as Davis points out, individuals affected by autism witnessed a “success story” as Eli described taking autism “to his advantage” in that he could “experience the world in ways most people won’t.”

Dr. Wolpe was moved by the “power of love the father had,” through the “respect he showed his son.” Mr. Archibald’s “openness and receptivity to his son,” Dr. Wolpe says, lead to his “willingness to let his son express himself.” The photographs, currently on display through November 30^th in the first floor commons of the Emory University Medical School, give realistic snapshots of mental illness, self-expression, and the power of familial bonds.

(l-r) Ami Klin, Timothy Archibald, Eli Archibald, Paul Root Wolpe