Emory University Center for Ethics

This Week: Ethics in the News

2012-03-15T11:05:00.001-07:00

Highlights from some of the week's top ethics news stories.

ISRAEL/IRAN/U.S.
Will the U.S. and Israel join forces to deter Iran's nuclear projects? Iran is facing mounting pressure from the international community by way of stricter sanctions. Netanyahu is setting ultimatums in real time. Netanyahu and Obama met March fifth to continue negotiations on the issue. Some view their respective responses to Iran as a good cop/bad cop routine.
For Further Investigation:
NPR - The Debate Over Bombing Nuclear Facilities in Iran
Bloomberg - In Iran Standoff, Netanyahu Could Be Bluffing
Jewish & Israel News - After Bibi's U.S., Question Remains, What's Israel's Next Step

UNPAID INTERNSHIPS
The ethics of unpaid internships. In terms of ethics, interns have the right to demand a worthwhile return on their time. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that anyone working must be paid, unless for educational purposes. Educational (unpaid) internships should be created for the benefit of the intern. The bottom line when it comes to ethics is that unpaid interns may benefit from a foot in the door, however crummy the work might be, but there is an unfair privilege to those who are able to work for free.
read more.......NYT Magazine - The Internship Rip-Off

AFGHAN SHOOTING SUSPECT
A full investigation is underway of suspected U.S. army sergeant who massacred sixteen civillians outside of Kandahar, Afghanistan on Sunday. Having served two tours in Iraq, this was his first tour in Afghanistan. His purpose was to train villagers on how to fend for themselves. Known to be an aggressive fighter and trained as a sniper, he suffered a head wound in Iraq that some think could have caused mental illness.
read more.......CBS World News - Afghan Shooting Suspect Could Face Death Penalty

GOVERNMENT ETHICS PRACTICES
The White House recently launched a website that provides data on government ethics practices. It has taken almost four years for Obama to implement one of his campaign promises because deciding what to expose was tricky. For now, the public has access to data about campaign finance, lobbying, travel expense reports and White House visitor records.
read more......AOL - White House Launches Ethics Website
view the site.....Government Ethics Data

ETHICAL FASHION
Fashion may seem frivolous as an environmental cause, but the size and reach of clothing manufacturing has an immense impact on the environment. Three ethical considerations that may deter a shopping spree are, labor practices in clothing factories, the pollution caused by the manufacturing process, and the fact that about 25% of our clothing goes to landfills. Check out alternatives like vintage, ethical fashion, swapping with friends, recycling and upcycling.

read more.......Huffington Post - Ethical Fashion: Why Fair Trade Practices Should Matter to Shoppers

Tangled in the Briar Patch: Tricksters, Underdogs, and Br'er Rabbit

2012-03-12T11:46:00.003-07:00

Storyteller Akbar Imhotep captivates audience with retelling of Br'er Rabbit Tales

“Wiiiiiiiiiiiii…..Br’er Rabbit flew through the air…..THWAMP as he landed in the briar patch.” All eyes were glued to storyteller Akbar Imhotep who told the tale of Br’er Rabbit and the Tar Baby while electrifying the crowd with words, sounds, and gestures.

Tangled in the Briar Patch: Tricksters, Underdogs, and Br'er Rabbit -an ethical exploration of the many interpretations and presentations of Br'er Rabbit stories took place at the Emory University Center for Ethics on February 29. Born in African folkore, these iconic children’s stories about a cunning rabbit have a profound and entangled history. This program, a collaboration between The Atlanta Opera, the Center for Ethics, presented through the Ethics & the Arts Initiative and supported by Georgia Humanities Council also included a performance excerpt from the The Atlanta Opera’s Rabbit Tales opera for children. These performances were accompanied by a panel discussion with Lain Shakespeare, former director of The Wren’s Nest, Dr. Lawrence Jackson, Emory professor of English and African-American Studies, and Madeleine St. Romain, Rabbit Tales librettist. Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, director of the Center for Ethics, moderated the discussion. The Br’er Rabbit stories provoked a broader conversation about their prominent place in the history of American literature and the underlying history of slavery and segregation. The benefit for the audience, said Carlton Mackey, Chair of the Ethics and the Arts Initiative at the Center for Ethics, is that they heard “varying perspectives from people who were uniquely competent and intelligent on the topics at hand, allowing the audience an opportunity for multiple entry points in thinking about the stories.”

Lain Shakespeare offers reflections on life of Joel C. Harris

The stories have their history in African-American folktales and were first published by Joel Chandler Harris. Harris, the great grandfather of Lain Shakespeare, translated and published the oral tradition of the Br’er Rabbit Stories between 1876 and 1908. One of the most successful novelists of his time, Harris had immense cultural and political influence, as he was also the associate editor of the Atlanta Constitution. The stories, Shakespeare described, came to Harris through memories of his childhood when he learned folktales from African Americans in his Eatonton community.

Dr. Lawrence Jackson offers complex historical analysis

Dr. Jackson offered historical insights that spoke to the complex racial undertones associated with the publishing and telling of the Br’er Rabbit stories. Some think of Harris as a liberal and some think of him as a white supremacist. Carlton Mackey reflected on this contention by saying that everyone, including the panelists, may not agree but the structure of the event allowed for a “great ethical landscape in which ethical conversations could legitimately occur.” Jackson described two sides to the success of the stories. As a prolific author, Harris ignited a folklore movement in American literature. However, to do so, he re-told folktales, which have, in turn, been repurposed by the likes of Disney. Jackson reminded us that a story is just as much about its content as it is about the storyteller and historical context.

Madeleine St. Romain describes process of creating Rabbit Tales

The musical excerpt delivered by cast members of Rabbit Tales showed a nuanced interpretation of one of the original Br’er Rabbit stories, which also has roots in other cultures. Librettist Madeleine St. Romain described the arduous process in which she reviewed the original Br’er Rabbit stories. After finding that female characters in Br’er Rabbit stories were usually in the background, St. Romain interwove the experiences of women and developed a new offering that has become Rabbit Tales. St. Romain combined these insights with story lines from other cultures and traditions to create a contemporary re-telling of Br’er Rabbit. Emmalee Iden, Director of Education at The Atlanta Opera, described her excitement in “using the Br’er Rabbit stories as a launching point for our first opera commission.” She went on to say that, “the stories have broad appeal and strong regional ties. This has been a great way to illustrate both the similarities and differences in folk tales from different cultures and different parts of the world.”

Cast performs scene from Rabbit Tales

The Br’er Rabbit stories are popular because of their timeless relatability to everyday life. In our everyday lives, complexities must be confronted alongside the mundane. Through conversations about Br’er Rabbit stories, another story emerged about the troubled history of race relations. Mackey said that what people took away was “a more thorough understanding of the issues.” This alternate way of telling and listening to stories goes beyond superficial meanings and requires inquiry into identity, language, and power dynamics. A set of children’s stories that may seem straight forward on the surface are in fact tangled in multiple layers of meaning.

Photos by Carlton Mackey

This Week: Ethics in the News

2012-03-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

Highlights from some of the week's top ethics news stories.

Following up on a previous post, the Supreme Court has rejected calls from congress to officially adopt a Code of Conduct. This message, released by Chief Justice John Roberts, means that High Court justices will use their own initiative to follow ethical standards. This issue is particularly contentious with impending Affordable Care Act hearings. Recusal decisions will be left to individual justices.
read more.......CNN - High Court Rejects Formal, Binding Ethics Rules

Christian Science Monitor

Physician Assisted Suicide in the US,
Oregon Department of Human Services

Euthanasia clinic in the Netherlands offers mobile service and stepped into the limelight of the US presidential race after Santorum's remarks. The Netherlands, one of the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to physician assisted suicide, has recently been under fire by GOP contendor Rick Santorum. Santorum accused the Dutch of euthanizing ten percent of their population when in fact, the rate is between 1-2 percent. The issue boils down to political influence on end of life care. Some wonder whether physician assisted suicide laws in the Netherlands have been pushed too far.
read domestic perspective.......CNN - Dutch Euthanasia Clinic Offers Mobile Service
read international perspective.......BBC - Dutch Offered 'Euthanasia on Wheels'

Obama has recently proposed a new corporate tax reform that would bring corporation's tax rates down from 35 percent to 28 percent and attempt to close loopholes. Many rules in the new code are contested because they are unclear, the rates vary per industry, and safeguarding against loopholes might prove to be impossible.
read more......Washington Post - Tax Spending vs. Government Spending

Congressional Budget Office

New brain enhancement technologies spark ethics debate. Neurotechnologies that change the brain, such as: brain-computer interface, neurostimulation techniques, and neural stem cell therapy are a multi-billion dollar industry. They could enhance treatments for medical conditions like Parkinson's Disease, but they could also actualize thought-controlled weaponry. Ethicists contend that some technologies are beneficial and can be life-changing from a medical standpoint, but when it comes to weaponry- who takes the responsibility? Where is the line between man and machine?
read more.....Reuters - Super Human Brain Technology Sparks Ethics Debate

Escalating bloodshed in Syria sparks international outcry. Violent protests that have racked Syria for the past few months may be coming to a head as international human rights groups and multi-state coalitions are mounting pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
read more.......NYT - How to Halt the Butchery in Syria

Students present Crystal Apples to outstanding professors

2012-03-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

The Crystal Apple Awards winners are: Front row, left to right, Allison Burdette, Jennifer Mathews, and Christine Ristaino. Back row: Clifford Gunthel, Edward Queen II, Amy Webb Girard, Karla Passalacqua, and Kate Woeber. Emory Photo/Video.

At the 13th annual Crystal Apple Awards ceremony on Feb. 27, the Residence Hall Association honored eight Emory professors for outstanding achievements in teaching. Unlike other teaching awards at Emory, each faculty member was nominated by his or her students. Chosen by a panel of students, the following professors have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and service in both the classroom and the greater Emory community.

The Laura Jones Hardman Award for Excellence in Service to the Emory Community: Edward Queen II, director of the D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership and coordinator of undergraduate studies at the Center for Ethics.

Read the entire article here.

"I cannot imagine my Emory experience without Dr. Queen as a central figure in it," wrote one student. "[…] I have seen Dr. Queen quietly tear up at the sight of his students' passion and devotion to service. Not only is he a great professor that challenges his students both inside and outside the classroom, but he is also a compassionate and kind listener who patiently and constantly mentors us."

Water Ethics: Coca-Cola and the Center for Ethics Tackle Global Challenge

2012-03-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

Photo: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

It takes about 2.5 liters of water to produce 1 liter of Coke, and Coke is the largest corporate consumer of water in the world. Yet, one quarter of the world’s population faces water shortages. This spring, the Center for Ethics is bringing together students, professors, and Coke’s Global Water Resource Sustainability Manager, Joe Rozza, to discuss the ethics of water use, distribution, and corporate responsibility in an innovative course called “Water as Ethical Medium.”

For Coca-Cola, the world’s preeminent brand, developing their Water Stewardship Program has become a necessity. Their mission is to “safely return to nature and communities an amount of water equivalent to what we use in our beverage production.” Coke has developed a number of water stewardship projects that have met with mixed results. Students are examining water usage and Coke’s strategy from the perspectives of anthropology, public health, philosophy, religious studies, and other approaches to try and develop applied, practical strategies and approaches to water stewardship projects.

Photo: Andrew Kavanagh

The course is unusual because it pairs corporate interest with academic scholarship. Arri Eisen, Professor of Pedagogy at Emory and an instructor in the course, said it’s the “kind of students” that set the course apart. This particular group, who range in discipline from Theology to Public Health, “want to know the cultural, anthropological, and social issues that aren’t being considered with the models Coke has now,” said Eisen. The aim, he said, is not to act as consultants but to learn to “apply practical knowledge to concrete problems.”

Is this group expected to solve Coke’s water stewardship dilemmas in one semester? To address concerns about overly ambitious expectations, students recently devised a set of questions for Mr. Rozza. Rather than focusing solely on the end-point, students are working to build a “framework for ethical guidelines,” said Eisen. The framework will provide a nuanced vocabulary for ethics and water that can be applied to various kinds of projects. The key to the partnership, and what makes the class remarkable, is that participants “may not agree with everything Coke does but interests in ethical practices and sustainability overlap,” said Eisen. Within the overlap, “tension can be used productively,” said Eisen, to tackle complex problems.

Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, Director of the Center for Ethics and an instructor in the course says, “The class is unique in how it engages with real time challenges confronting Coca-Cola.” The challenges are extrapolated in the “very applied nature of the goals of the class.” Courses like this, said Wolpe, are “a wonderful model of combining academic and entrepreneurial models in our deep exploration of the cultural, social, and religious aspects of water use and a pragmatic and practical application to the real life problems of a company.”

We look forward to following these students as they grapple with a multi-national corporate agenda and ethical approaches to water management.

2010 Coca-Cola System Water Use Ratio (Efficiency) by Region
Source: Coca-Cola Water Stewardship

2010 Coca-Cola System Water Use by Source
Source: Coca-Cola Water Stewardship

Calculating the Replenish Target for Coca-Cola Projects
Source: Coca-Cola Water Stewardship

1Ling Woo Liu/Shanghai, Water Pressure,Time Magazine,Thursday, June 12, 2008, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1814261,00.html#ixzz1kx6630k9

2UN Water, Water Scarcity, http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml

3The Water Stewardship and Replenishment Report, Coca-Cola Compant, January 2011, http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/pdf/replenish_2011.pdf

Ethics & the Arts News - Spring 2012 Volume 2

2012-03-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

CHECK OUT the latest installment of Ethics & the Arts News -a publication of the Emory University Center for Ethics by Carlton Mackey (Chair of the Ethics & the Arts Initiative) and Chantel Smith. This installment features highlight from programs with Wonderroot, The Ethics & Arts Society, Alliance Theatre, The Atlanta Opera, Glo Atl, Atlanta Music Project...articles by Karen Rommelfanger and Cate Powell...artwork by Anna Nelson-Daniel, Myron McGhee, Timothy Archibald, My True Vision Photography.

Open publication - Free publishing - More arts

This Week: Ethics in the News

2012-03-02T09:06:00.001-08:00

Highlights from some of the week's top ethics news stories.

Affirmative Action on trial. A white student named Alison Fisher has filed suit against the University of Texas Austin over one of their admissions programs. The Supreme Court has granted an examination of the program, which is intended to promote diversity. The result could end race-based decisions in college admissions.
read more......Huffington Post - A Defense of Affirmative Action
read about the statistics......Pew Social Trends - Minorities and the Recession Era College Enrollment Booms
read statement by the University of Texas President.......Bill Powers Statement

Ohio shooter confesses. T.J. Lane, a sophomore at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, admitted to firing shots at four students in the school's cafeteria on Monday. Three students have died and two are in critical condition. It's hard to pinpoint the cause. Although Lane was known to be a loner with a troubled family history, he was also a good student. He took the gun from a family member.
read more.....New York Times - Ohio Shooting Suspect Confesses, Prosecutors Say

Source: Sperling's

Good news for pigs. McDonald's has finally succumbed to pressure from animal rights activists and PETA to offer farmed animals more respectable living environments. The preeminent fast food restaurant has now eliminated the use of gestation crates, two foot wide cages, designed to immobilize pigs.
read more.....CNN - A Better World for Farmed Animals

Current Consumption of Meat. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Gestation Crate. Source: David Cassuto

Harvard researchers have recently found that women's stem cells may be used to grow new eggs. Aside from fertility treatments, this discovery could be used to "make a line of human embryonic stem cells." Translation: cloning. If this proves to be an effective way to grow hundreds or thousands of new stem cells in the lab, scientists are marveling about the possibilities for "therapeutic cloning."
read more...LA Times - Eggs Made from Stem Cells Could Treat More Than Fertility

Are wealthier people less ethical? Psychologists at UC Berkeley have done a series of experiments on 1,000 people from all walks of life. Results showed that individuals higher in socio-economic status were more likely to partake in unethical behavior. Lead author, Paul Piff, suggests that the more wealth an individual has, the more they want, and the more they are willing to behave unethically to get there.
read more....CNN - Are Rich People More Unethical?

Closing Reception for EASL Student Art Exhibit at Center for Ethics

2012-03-02T07:13:00.000-08:00

Anna Nelson-Daniel is a senior at Emory College majoring in Art History and Visual Arts. She is a current member of the Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) Forum. Anna’s studies started on the Emory at Oxford campus. It was at Oxford that Anna enrolled in a number of sociology courses. These sculptures are inspired by her experiences in the “Social Problems” course. In this class, led by Professor Mike McQuaide, students visit a variety of locations including a homeless shelter, Georgia prisons, the Grady Emergency Room, and Emory’s Center for Ethics.

Anna uses narratives from her participation in the course to create scenarios that present complex issues in a unique way without creating a feeling of hopelessness. Displayed together, theses sculptures gesture toward the ways in which social issues are interconnected. The finished sculptures will be exhibited at the Visual Arts Department Gallery in April 2012.

These photos of the exhibit are on display at the Center for Ethics as part of the Center's Ethics & the Arts Initiative through March 15. This exhibit is sponsored by a grant from Emory’s Center for Creativity and Arts. Please join us for a closing reception with the Anna Nelson-Daniel at the Center for Ethics on Tuesday March 6 at 7pm.

This event is FREE and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

What's in a Word -a reflection on "genocide"

2012-02-29T11:41:00.010-08:00

In a recent New York Times article, David Scheffer advocated for changing the language we use to refer to mass atrocities. Instead of using the term genocide, as is often used today, Scheffer urges politicians to switch to the term “atrocity crimes” in order to prevent the politicization that occurs when the word “genocide” is used. Scheffer argues that the term genocide creates unnecessary political tension, which then detracts from the international community’s (namely the UN’s) ability to do anything about said “atrocity crimes.” Furthermore, Scheffer goes on to use the example of the tension between France and Turkey that has resulted from Turkey’s refusal to label the Armenian genocide as such. The French Parliament, on the other end of the spectrum, has declared the atrocities that occurred in Armenia from 1915 to 1923 genocide and is considering a bill that would criminalize its denial. This has undeniably created considerable tension between Turkey and France.

Photo of Raphael Lemkin (who coined the term genocide) from

untreaty.un.org

I disagree with Scheffer’s notion that this political tension could be easily forgone by simply changing the terminology with which we refer to the Armenian genocide and all other genocides. Calling the Armenian genocide by another name will not magically eradicate the tension between Turkey and France. Scheffer’s rationale in switching from “genocide” to “atrocity crimes” stems from the fact that he believes the term genocide stifles the international community’s response to the situation at hand. This stifling, he goes on to explain, is a result of widespread misinterpretation in the political world of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Consequently, rather than spur the international community into action, as the word genocide was originally intended to do, the word genocide instead causes inaction. Scheffer’s solution for this inaction is to change the word we use to define these horrific crimes. Instead of using the term genocide, which is well defined by the Genocide Convention, Scheffer suggests the term “atrocity crimes,” which has no definition or preconceived connotations. This shift in terminology, according to Scheffer, will rid the international community of the tension caused by the word “genocide,” as a result of its definition and implications, and thus allow us to begin working toward a solution.

I believe Scheffer’s suggested change in terminology is a simplistic short-term solution to a long-term problem that requires a more complicated and nuanced solution. Eventually, the term “atrocity crimes” will accrue its own definition such that, in Scheffer’s opinion, we will be in the same precarious situation that we are today with the word “genocide.” Surely, the definition of genocide and its implications are not perfect and this may be a partial cause of the international community’s inability to take action when genocide occurs. However, the real problem here lies not in the term genocide, but rather in the reasons why many international actors are stupefied when genocide occurs.

Pushing “genocide” out of our vocabulary and pulling “atrocity crimes” in would not solve any of the real issues that stop the international community from adequately responding. Thus, I believe that the solution is not to change the term “genocide” to something less politically charged. Instead, we must get to the root of the problem—understanding why some international actors are reluctant to act when they hear the word "genocide" or "mass atrocities" or "atrocity crimes." The international community’s inadequate (and often nonexistent) response to genocide is a long-standing issue, and as such, we need a nuanced solution instead of a simple change in terminology to truly end and prevent genocide.

Hannah Finnie is a Freshman at Emory University and is a work-study student for the Center for Ethics and Ethics and Student Leadership (EASL) Program.

This Week: Ethics in the News

2012-02-28T10:57:00.001-08:00

Highlights from some of the week's top ethics news stories.

The U.S. Supreme Court is losing trust from the public. The court's approval rating has gone down to 46% due to the justices' reticence about ethics questions and their refusal to televise oral arguments. Oral arguments against the Affordable Care Act are to be presented within this month.
read more........NYT - Trust and the Supreme Court
read more about the Affordable Care Act oral arguments.....CNN - Supreme Court Takes up Challenge to Health Care Reform Law

Source: The Gallup News Poll

There is a growing consensus among scientists that the planet's climate is being altered by human activity; however, the contention over climate change broils on. This week, Pacific Institute Climate Research Group president, Peter Gleick, stepped down citing a lapse in professional judgement and ethics. Gleick admitted to stealing and then leaking information from climate change skeptic Heartland Institute.
read more.......Huffington Post - Peter Gleick, Climate Scientist, Investigated After Heartland Leak

The Mormon church is accused of performing posthumous baptisms on Holocaust victims. Allegations that the church posthumously baptized Anne Frank have surfaced just one week after they were accused of performing posthumous baptisms on the parents of Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Simon Weisenthal. Posthumous baptisms of non-Mormons were barred in 1995 and church officials claim the recent baptisms weren't approved by the church. Jewish leaders are offended and infuriated.
read more.....Washington Post - Claims Surface of Anne Frank Baptism by Mormon Church

A mortgage settlement from big banks could go up to $30 billion. Five of America's biggest banks will be required to pay a penalty for their role in the mortgage crisis. One in five American homes are underwater. Homeowners question whether or not the unified settlement is preferable to individual lawsuits brought against the banks.
read more......NPR - Some Money from Mortgage Settlement to be Diverted
watch a video.....ABC - Mortgage Settlement Banks Pay-Up

Source: The New York Times

Emory Center for Ethics: Upcoming Events February 29 - March 7

2012-02-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

February 29 - "Tangled in the Briar Patch"
Time:7:00pm
Location: Center for Ethics Room 102

Synopsis: The beloved Br’er Rabbit stories have been interpreted and presented in many different ways throughout the years. Join us for “Tangled in the Briarpatch: Tricksters, Underdogs, and Br'er Rabbit” an ethical exploration of the Br’er Rabbit stories accompanied by storytelling by Wren’s Nest Rambler, Akbar Imhotep, and a performance of an excerpt from The Atlanta Opera’s Rabbit Tales, an opera for children.

This program, a collaboration between The Atlanta Opera and the Center for Ethics, is presented through the Center’s Ethics & the Arts Initiative and with financial support from the Georgia Humanities Council.

March 1 - Lecture with Susan M. Reverby, Ph.D.
Lecture Title: "Escaping Melodramas: The U.S. STD 1946-48 Experiments in Guatemala and their Aftermath"Time:5:00pm
Location: Emory School of Medicine - Room 120

Synopsis: Between 1946 and 1948, the U.S. Public Health Service conducted human subject experiments in Guatemala that involved the use of diseased sex workers, inoculation of unsuspecting subjects with bacterial inoculum, and failure to treat participants when infection followed. The results of the study were never published and the study was unknown until historian of medicine Susan M. Reverby unexpectedly discovered records of the study among the PI's papers at the University of Pittsburgh. In this lecture, Reverby will discuss how she found the papers, brought them to the attention of the CDC, and witnessed the aftermath--apologies at the federal level and the swift investigation by the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, of which the Vice Chair is Emory President James W. Wagner.

Co-sponsored by: The Emory University IRB, the Emory University Center for Ethics, and the Rollins School of Public Health

March 3 - Atlanta Music Project Winter Concert

Time: 2:00pm

Location: Emory University Center for Ethics

Following the performance, there will be a reception and unveiling of a photo exhibit chronicling the first year of the Atlanta Music project, by AMP Photographer, Carlton Mackey.

Presented by the Center's Ethics and Arts Initiative and in collaboration with the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs.

March 7 - Lecture with Jason Karlawish, MD
Lecture Title: "Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont"
Time: 4:00pm
Location: Center for Ethics Commons 102

Synopsis: Jason Karlawish will read from and discuss his recently published novel "Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont." Based on true events along the 19th century American frontier, Open Wound artfully fictionalizes the complex, lifelong relationship between Dr. Beaumont and his famous patient Alexis St. Martin, a young fur trapper whose shotgun injury never completely healed, leaving a hole into his stomach. Eager to rise up from his humble origins and insecure about his rural medical apprenticeship, Beaumont seized the opportunity to experiment on his patient to establish his legitimacy as an elite physician and secure his prosperity. Beaumont personifies the best and worst aspects of American ambition and power.

Emory Center for Ethics February 23 Clinical Ethics Seminar: "Mind over Matter? Placebo and Psychogenic Movement Disorders"

2012-02-21T07:41:00.001-08:00

Neuroethics Weekly To Do List : Feb. 21-24

2012-02-21T07:36:00.002-08:00

February 21^st at 4pm
"Human Self-Consciousness"
by Phillipe Rochat, Emory Department of Psychology. Yerkes Neuroscience Building, Seminar Room 1202.

February 22^nd at 4:15pm
“Louise Bourgeois’ Memory Cells”
by Dr. Evelyne Ender, Professor of French and Comparative Literature at CUNY’s Graduate Center and Hunter College in New York City.

Sponsored by The Psychoanalytic Studies Program. Callaway S423

February 23^rd at 4:15pm
"In Search of the Creative Brain: Frederic Chopin and George Sand"
by Dr. Evelyne Ender, Professor of French and Comparative Literature at CUNY’s Graduate Center and Hunter College in New York City.

Sponsored by The Psychoanalytic Studies Program. White Hall 111

February 23^rd at 5pm
"Mind Over Matter? Placebo and Psychogenic Movement Disorders"
by Karen Rommelfanger, Emory Center for Ethics and Assistant Director of the Neuroethics Program. Center for Ethics, Seminar Room 162.

February 24^th at 12pm
"Handwriting: The Brain, the Hand, the Eye, the Ear" Lunch
by Evelyne Ender from Hunter College, CUNY, Romance Languages Department. *Limited seating by reservation only

February 24^th 12pm
"Effects of Early Life Stress on Infant Macaque Brain Development" and "The Role of SIMPLE Mutations in the Pathogenesis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease"
by Brittany Howell and Sammy Lee, respectively.

Hosted by Emory University, Department of Neuroscience. Whitehead Auditorium

1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta Georgia 30322 | 404.712.8307 | www.ethics.emory.edu

Neuroethics Journal Club on Sleep, Work Place Deviance, and Your Brain

2012-02-20T13:11:00.008-08:00

NEUROETHICS JOURNAL CLUB Announcement
Hosted by the Emory University Neuroethics Program and the Scholars Program
in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Research (SPINR)

In this month's journal club, we will discuss the article “Examining the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Work Place Deviance.” The discussion will be facilitated by Emory Grad Neuroscience Alumnae and Neuroethics Program Associate, Dr. Gillian Hue.

Where: Center for Ethics , Room 162
When: Wednesday, Feb 22, 2012 @ 1230-130pm

RSVP to neuroethics@emory.edu by Feb 20, 2012 as seating and lunches are limited.

To read reviews about previous Neuroethics Journal Clubs visit: The Neuroethics Blog

Expand your neuroethics network on Facebook

This Week: Ethics in the News

2012-02-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

Highlights from some of the week's top ethics news stories.

Georgia takes front and center in the assisted suicide debate. The GA Supreme Court ruled assisted suicide law unconstitutional, absolving four members of the Final Exit Network who were connected to the 2008 suicide of 53-year-old John Celmer.

read local perspective......AJC - Court Strikes Down Georgia's Assisted Suicide Law

Was the ruling politically motivated?

read national perspective.......Huffington Post - Georgia Assisted Suicide Law Overturned by State Supreme Court

Source: Gallup

Obama vs. The Catholic Church. Contraceptive provisions in the new health care legislation have inflamed the Catholic Church. Although Obama made compromises last Friday, the battle is far from over.
read more......CBS - Catholic Votes and the Obama Contraceptive Quarrel

Catholics respond to compromises. read more.....Reuters - Catholic Bishops Fight for Authority

Where do the GOP contenders stand? read more....Washington Post - Rick Santorum's Very Catholic Birth Control Beliefs

Ocean dumping investigations are on the rise due to a few insider sleuths. "Richard A. Udell, who frequently prosecutes magic pipe cases for the Department of Justice, said in court that dumping was 'vitrually an epidemic.'"

Source: World Culture Pictorial

Los Angeles Unified School District under fire and facing "heavy financial cost" for pandemic pedophilia. Horrific details have been exposed over the past few weeks causing the temporary shut down of Miramonte Elementary School for massive lay-offs and re-org.

The Life of a Play Beyond the Stage

2012-02-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

Judy Leavell/Baba Yaga

Playwright Meg Miroshnik

Consider the life of a play. The dream of the playwright has come to fruition and she hopes that the play’s themes will spark conversations within a broader community. The play becomes a living, breathing thing that represents a complex web of ideas and relationships. These relationships influence the performance and real lives of the playwright, director and cast. How does the play’s life unfold in the community? Through dramatic scene readings and discussion, the Center for Ethics, in partnership with the Alliance Theater, have bridged the life of the play and the lives of community members by creating a space for dialogue.

Meg Miroshnik’s play The Fairy Tales Lives of Russian Girls has won the eighth Alliance/Kandeda Playwright Competition. Each year, the competition grants a full production for a play written by an emerging playwright. Miroshnik used her experience living in Moscow to write a story about an American woman who also travels to Moscow and navigates a crossover world between reality and fairytale. Carlton Mackey, Chair of the Ethics & the Arts Initiative at the Center for Ethics, said that the competition is remarkable because it, “allows the writer to go from general obscurity to a production in a major theater.”

Dramatic scene readings

Mackey goes on to note how through dialogue, audience members have the opportunity to see beyond the stage. “When do you ever hear the actors and directors talk?” asks Mackey. The conversation, which took place at the Center for Ethics, provided unexpected insights that showed how conflicts in the play were interchangeable with real life conflicts. Actress Judy Leavell plays Baba Yaga/Auntie Yaraslova, an elderly woman who fits the stereotype of a witch. Leavell spoke about the pervasiveness of ageism in the theater business. She applauded the fact that ageism is not present in the work environment of Fairytale Lives. Celise Kalke, Director of New Projects at the Alliance Theater, said the dialogue was a special opportunity because Leavell felt comfortable and compelled to expound upon a salient issue that is rarely talked about. Kalke said that conversation is used as, “an important tool for us to continue to think about theater’s role as community leader,” in so far as, “there is responsibility on the artistic side of theater to provoke discussion.” The play becomes a tool that guides the audience to consider questions and ideas that challenge social paradigms.

Instead of going over technical details and operations of the play, dialogue provided invaluable feedback about content and theme from the audience to the playwright, director and cast. The play was created by Miroshnik to reflect her role as observer in Moscow. In her writing, connections are derived between the women she saw on the street and the women in Russian fairytales. She explains in an interview with Bret Love that the play, “is asking what role fairytales have in adult lives.”

Members of the cast

Miroshnik uses Russian fairytales, seen through the eyes of an American observer, as a way to show how thoroughly informed Russian and American experience are by each other. The focus is on, “hope, possibility, and change, across generations rather than cultural differences between Russia and the U.S.,” Kalke described.

In juxtaposing the play with community dialogue, layers of meaning were uncovered. For the audience, playwright, director and cast, the play took on a new and enhanced life.

Cast, Playwright, Alliance Director of New Projects, and Center for Ethics Staff

Photos courtesy of Carlton Mackey

Russian Predicament vs. American Happy Ending

2012-02-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

Source:Alliance Theater

Can the happy ending that Americans hold so dear be superimposed onto the conflicted conclusions of Russian fairytales? This is the question I was left with after spending ninety minutes watching a cast of voluptuous females use their feminine powers to kill or be killed. In the play The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, playwright Meg Miroshnik assembled pieces of Russian fairytale characters into an American woman’s journey to Moscow.

Russian tales begin with “zhili byli” which means, “they lived, they were.” It struck me that these Russian words are closer to everyday life than our “once upon a time.” With this intro, Miroshnik took us to dark and terrible places where fairytales mirrored reality.

As the play progressed, I began to see how fairytales shape and are shaped by the lives they portray. The characters anthropomorphize into profiles of everyday people. The bear is the abusive husband, the witch is the bitter old woman, and the innocent girls always take the wrong path. Poverty and corruption prevail. I was left wondering whether or not happy endings are attainable in Russia.

Actually, there may not have been a happy ending in the play after all. Although the brave and incisive American and her tag team of beleaguered Russian young women prevail, the true victory seems to ultimately rest on whether or not the American gets back to sunny California. The Russian women, however, who have grown beyond their fairytale stereotypes and have become fully human, are left with the same bleak existence, forever battling for their own security and livelihood.

Source: Alliance Theater

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Atlanta Opera and Center for Ethics present: Tangled in the Briar Patch

2012-02-15T11:59:00.001-08:00

Tangled in the Briarpatch: Tricksters, Underdogs, and Br'er Rabbit

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 @ 7PM

Emory University Center for Ethics

1531 Dickey Drive

Free and open to the public

The beloved Br’er Rabbit stories have been interpreted and presented in many different ways throughout the years. Join us for “Tangled in the Briarpatch: Tricksters, Underdogs, and Br'er Rabbit” an ethical exploration of the Br’er Rabbit stories accompanied by storytelling by Wren’s Nest Rambler, Akbar Imhotep, and a performance of an excerpt from The Atlanta Opera’s Rabbit Tales, an opera for children.

Engage with a panel of experts as they discuss how different audiences and periods have viewed, understood, and judged these stories. Panelists will include Dr. Lawrence Jackson, Emory professor of English and African American Studies, Lain Shakespeare, member of the Joel Chandler Harris Association Board of Directors, and Madeleine St. Romain, the librettist of Rabbit Tales. Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, Director of the Emory University Center for Ethics, will moderate.

This program, a collaboration between Atlanta Opera and the Center for Ethics, is presented through the Center’s Ethics & the Arts Initiative and with financial support from the Georgia Humanities Council.

Music for youth – Mariangela Jordan 12C and Ariel Wolpe 12C gather instruments for Burmese refugees

2012-02-14T09:50:00.002-08:00

Imagine arriving in a new country, barely able to speak the language, confused by unfamiliar customs and dress, puzzled by strange foods, and awestruck by the barrage of words and sounds coming at you from all directions. You might feel disoriented and unable to focus. Then imagine how a different sound greets your ears, a universal sound that you can understand . . . the sound of music. And suddenly, through this global language of music, communicating gets that much easier.

For a young group of young Burmese refugees here in Atlanta, the sound ofmusic soothing their transition to their new homeland. Through her affiliation with Voices in the Treetops, Mariangela Jordan 12C is helping these young refugees gain self confidence by experimenting with music. The program is housed by the Clarkston Community Center.

Ethics & the Arts Society President Mariangela Jordan and Sacred Artistry President, Ariel Wolpe, project for Burmese refugees highlighted by Emory Alumni Association.

Read complete article:

http://eaavesdropping.emory.edu/2012/02/01/music-for-youth-mariangela-jordan-12c-provides-instruments-to-burmese-refugees/

On Newt’s Narcissism

2012-02-14T08:31:00.002-08:00

Photo: Ginger Gibson, Politico

My concerns about Newt Gingrich began in 1994 when I watched him address an overflow crowd upon the Republican takeover of Congress. He was engulfed by supporters, media, handlers, and by enormous hand-held flood lights that followed him, like a caravan, when he left the stage. And that’s when I saw it: The unmistakable strut and bearing of a potentate—the strut of a man so perfectly and completely saturated with his power that it was downright scary.

I’m more scared now. As I’ve observed and read about Newt over the last few months, I have become increasingly convinced that he isn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill, narcissistic politician. His narcissism is of a very different kind, and it’s something that should have concerned us long ago.

Narcissists come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but there is a particular variety that I believe can claim Newt as a card-carrying member. “Toxic” is their middle name, as they leave in their wake relationships, programs, and institutions—indeed virtually anything they seriously get their hands on—tattered, shredded and in ruins. They are people who experience themselves—and that’s important: they “feel themselves”—as magnificent, overwhelming, powerful, and awesome. They exude an infectious self-confidence such that everything they touch takes on their grandiosity, including the devotion of their supporters. Things start to unravel when those supporters begin exerting their own independence, plans and ideas, as they inevitably will. The pathological narcissist is bewildered and then enraged by this disloyalty and so severs ties.

When I googled “Narcissism and Newt Gingrich,” I got dozens of hits. Pundits and bloggers point to his lifelong obsession with power; his marital infidelities; his hypocrisies; and to his political decline in 1998, the astonishing reversal of his spectacular ascendancy to power in 1994. They talk about his self-manufactured, crises-ridden tenure as Speaker of the House and the handful of supporters he had left when he resigned in 1998. They talk about his engineering the 22-day federal government shutdown in 1995, allegedly because he was snubbed by President Clinton on an Air Force One flight to Israel. They talk about his ethics violations and the $300,000 worth of fines he incurred for violating chamber rules.

But I doubt that Newt is fazed by any of this. Gingrich-style narcissists never believe they are at fault, nor do they believe that rules apply to them. For example, Newt has said that if he becomes President, he will ignore any Supreme Court ruling with which he disagrees. These kinds of remarks should be taken very seriously. Newt believes everything he says—no matter how loony—because of his authoring the idea. Simply the fact that he confidently proclaims it is proof enough. As history has shown, this kind of self-confidence is immensely seductive, which is why people become enamored with it early on only to realize their mistake too late.

I’m confident that the Republican power brokers know all this and will do whatever they can to crush Gingrich’s chances. But his success so far is a continuing testimony to the short memories of Americans and to the sweep of a very talented but very dangerous narcissist. Let us hope he gets no further.

The opinions expressed in this blog are his alone and not those of the Center for Ethics or Emory University.

John Banja, PhD is a medical ethicist at the Center for Ethics and the author of Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism (Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2005).

Center for Ethics Co-Sponsors Song Byeok Lecture

2012-02-14T08:28:00.002-08:00

Lori Marino to present at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Vancouver

2012-02-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

Lori Marino is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology and a faculty affiliate of the Center for Ethics at Emory.

This Week: Ethics in the News

2012-02-10T06:42:00.001-08:00

Highlights from some of the week's top ethical news stories.

Murdock faces suits, phone hacking troubles are far from over. Victims are concerned about "the depths to which the press can sink in pursuit of private information."

PETA vs. Seaworld. Killer whales as plaintiffs: do they have the same constitutional protection from slavery as humans?
read more......BBC - Seaworld Sued Over 'Enslaved' Killer Whales

Some whales use their instincts. read more.....CNN - Seaworld Trainer Killed by Killer Whale

A man from Putin's inner circle speaks out about corruption fueling popular unrest in Russia. Transparency caused by the internet means, "Today it's getting harder and harder for politicians to lie."
read more.....NYT - From Success at Putin's Side to Exposing Corruption

Global Corruption Index

Acts of war without declaring war. Moral and legal contentions as drone warfare diffuses responsibility and sets us farther apart from the enemy.
read more......Los Angeles Times - Regarding Drone Warfare

Source: Bureau of Investigative Journalism

Women and Thought Leadership: The Op-Ed Project partners with Emory University

2012-02-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

Catherine Orenstein, Founder of the Op-Ed Project

There is power in changing thought and shifting the public conversation. But many of our thought leaders represented in opinion forums in the print, on-line and broadcast media don't reflect the diversity of voices in our society. For example, over 80% of the op-eds in major newspapers and websites are written by men with a similar percentage of submissions from men. Such pieces shift the conversation, guide public opinion and policy, ultimately, may influence national and international agendas.

Op-Ed Project workshop group

Enter the Op-Ed Project, a social venture that seeks to mentor and train women and other under-represented thought leaders to enter and change the public conversation. An intermediate goal, according to Op-Ed founder Catherine Orenstein, is the publication of ideas from new thought leaders, causing a “tipping point,” in public leadership and decision-making. Forming a critical mass of under-represented voices could in fact change the way we view the world and our place in it.

Orenstein’s deep interest in the intersection of media and mythology informs her work as a writer and a speaker. She believes the way information is presented, and what we see as fact or fiction, "shapes our ideas about politics, culture and history." Her deep commitment to helping others find their voice is evident in the way she tells her own stories and crafts her work with universities and other community leaders.

An Op-Ed Project seminar, led by Orenstein and mentor-editor, Zeba Khan, was recently held at Emory through a collaboration between the Center for Women and the Center for Ethics. A competitive application process brought twenty-one women faculty and graduate student participants from a range of departments across campus.

Op-Ed Project small group session

The workshop provided an opportunity for rich dialogue about compelling ideas, the power of words, and the nature of expertise. Through a variety of exercises participants began to test the waters regarding a compelling idea and to explore techniques for making a powerful case in evidence-based arguments. Participants will continue to connect through Project Op-Ed, having access to national mentor-editors over the coming years.

The Center for Ethics and the Center for Women are committed to this work of supporting members of the Emory community in speaking up about issues that matter. Two public scholarship workshops (with the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence) are already planned and additional opportunities for deepening this work are being explored.

Emory Op-Ed Project participants

Kathy Kinlaw is Associate Director of the Emory University Center for Ethics and Director of the Center's Program in Health Sciences and Ethics. She serves as Bioethics Associate in Pediatrics, Emory School of Medicine; and Executive Director of the Health Care Ethics Consortium of Georgia.

Arri Eisen Moderates "Perspectives on Mental Healing"

2012-02-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

Dr. Eisen is an affiliated faculty member of the Center for Ethics and a senior lecturer in Biology and the Graduate Institute for Liberal Arts. Watch the recent Spotlight on Ethics interview about his work with Tibetan Buddhists.

Film Screening and Discussion: "Education Under Fire: Iranian Persecution of Baha'i Education"

2012-02-06T06:11:00.000-08:00

This Week: Ethics in the News

2012-02-02T08:40:00.001-08:00

Highlights some of the week's top ethical news stories.

Have politicians become exempt from standards of personal ethics? Although Romney attacks Gingrich’s character, voters are surprisingly compassionate.
read more.....Boston Herald – Ethics Curve Suits Newt

Is Romney’s ethics investigation accurate?
read more......Washington Post - Romney Gets the Facts Wrong on Gingrich’s Ethics Case

Slammed with allegations of unethical labor practices in China, Apple seems to be revising their standards. What does this mean for “fraud-friendly” nations?

read more....Huffington Post - Apple's Ethical Blindness

Scientists claim that sugar is as detrimental to health as alcohol and tobacco. Should sugar be similarly regulated?
read more......The Guardian - Tax and regulate sugar like alcohol and tobacco, urge scientists

Source: FAO

Despite recent rules meant to diminish the influence of corporations in Washington, politicians continue to find rewards.
read more....NYT - Rules for Congress Curb but Don’t End Junkets
Source: Legistorm

Number of Trips

Total cost, all trips

Average trip length

One Week Later: SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-31T06:42:00.000-08:00

Picture from hypervocal.com

Web-based companies such as Google, Wikimedia, Mozilla Firefox and more recently heralded the abrupt end of SOPA and PIPA as a victory. However, as I touched upon last week in a blog post about the importance of my generation in internet-related issues, this victory should also be attributed to the hundreds of thousands of high school and college students who voiced their opposition to SOPA and PIPA. Over the course of one day, where thousands of calls were placed and just as many emails were sent to representatives urging their opposition to SOPA and PIPA, the number of Senators and members of the House of Representatives in support of SOPA and PIPA quickly faltered.

After the destruction of SOPA and PIPA, I witnessed many members of my generation celebrating their victory and realizing, for the first time, the power of their voices. Regardless of the merits of SOPA and PIPA, I am thankful to see the spark that these bills created within many high school and college students. I am hopeful that this triumph will inspire more activism and cooperative action within my generation. I am hopeful that we will no longer be considered apathetic. Overall, I believe that the issues raised by SOPA and PIPA were catalysts that motivated us because they dealt with issues that are important to us. I am excited to see what we do next.

Hannah Finnie is a Freshman at Emory University and is a work-study student for the Center for Ethics and the Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) Program.

Spotlight on Ethics: A Conversation with Carlton Mackey about Ethics & Art

2012-01-26T10:44:00.000-08:00

Carlton Mackey, Chair of the Ethics & the Arts Initiative at the Emory University Center for Ethics discusses the incorporation of art into the work of the Center for Ethics in this latest installment of Spotlight on Ethics. The mission of this initiative is to transform ethical scholarship through the arts. To learn more about the Ethics & the Arts Initiative visit http://www.ethics.emory.edu.

Emory Center for Ethics and the Alliance Theatre present Readings from "The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls"

2012-01-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

*UPDATE*
Need tickets to see "The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls"?
There will be a 15% discount on tickets for those who attend this event.

Rallying For a Cause: My Generation’s Response to SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

Recently, there has been a frenzy relating to SOPA and PIPA. Although they have two different names, SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (the Protect IP Act) are in fact two versions of the same bill. As the two bills began their respective travels through both the House of Representatives and the Senate, they received two different names. Both are targeted at ending online piracy, which currently enables widespread illegal downloading in the United States. The cause of the uproar, however, lies in the potential violation of free speech that this bill, should it pass, could cause. Any company that is angered over illegal downloading of say, a song by a musician they represent, would be able to legally have the web site completely shut down. In contrast, the current laws simply require that the illegal material be removed. If the new bill were to pass, the potential for abuse of power by media conglomerates would be enormous.

Picture from buzzbox.com

The frenzy, however, has not been solely confined to the corporate world. Many members of my generation, a mix of college and high school students, have started taking action. Although many of my friends support various causes, there is no one cause that my entire generation has rallied behind. However, when I logged onto facebook yesterday, I was astounded to see that around half of my facebook “friends” had posted something relating to SOPA and PIPA. Many participated in energetic debate evaluating the possible merits and disadvantages of the bill. Others posted links which enabled you to contact your Representative voicing your opinion on SOPA and PIPA. I had not seen so much unified enthusiasm within my generation for any particular issue since my high school had an unexpected snow day the previous winter.

Many members of older generations complain that my generation is complacent. The 1960’s was dominated by the civil rights movement, the 1970’s hosted anti-war protests, and the 1980’s was the rise of the gay rights movement. Of course, many of these causes are still being fought today, as they should be. Still, there are other causes that students around the nation have tirelessly supported, such as protecting the environment and human rights. However, there has been no one movement that has caused us to come together and rally behind—until now. Perhaps it is because we are the technology generation, and part of our identity lies within our connection to the internet. For better or for worse, we are defined by our interdependent relationship with the web. Our recent outcry in response to SOPA and PIPA has shown that we are not complacent or apathetic, as many members of other generations seem to believe. Instead, we had not yet found the issue that had the ability to energize and unite us for a cause. In SOPA and PIPA, we, the technology generation, have found our issue.
-Hannah Finnie is a Freshman at Emory University and is a work-study student for the Center for Ethics and the Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) Program.

Emory Students Discuss Controversies Sparked by State of Race Event feat. Spike Lee

2012-01-12T08:01:00.000-08:00

Spike Lee.
Photo by Carlton Mackey

Conversations initiated by Spike Lee continue below. Emory students have had mixed reactions to Mr. Lee’s address and his response to questions from the audience, such as, “What do you think of LGBT issues?” The proceeding students reflect on the purpose of the State of Race event as well as issues that were kicked up by Spike Lee and audience members.

Conrad Honicker is an Emory student who is studying Women, Gender and Sexuality. He is also a Program Assistant at the Center for Women and a member of Emory’s Issues Troupe that performed during the State of Race event.

I think the conversation Lee left us with is happening. I understand the tenseness with Spike Lee's response on "what he thought about LGBT Issues." Instead of answering the question, he turned the tables in an obviously invalidating, condescending, and immature way on a young person (who held his ground very well). However, in a way, Lee did answer his question; by asking questions such as, "How old are you?" and "Who told you about this?" and "Do you have LGBT friends?" Compounded with the implicit homophobia in his feelings about HIV in the black community coming from "brothers on the down low -- not from needles," it seems that Lee is unversed in talking about LGBT issues if not ignorant and heterosexist towards the issue. That is, many people may consider themselves LGBT friendly, but in what circumstances and at what capacity?One thing to be mindful of, though, is that not everyone is perfect and completely well-versed in the languages of social justice and being sensitive to every type of person. Do I think Lee has a responsibility to be on top of how he speaks about LGBT people in a public space? Yes, but I want to emphasize a certain flexibility and patience I have with Lee. That is, it's not like he's not doing anything. The work he is doing and has done has made huge cultural impacts, and for that he needs to be recognized. In that recognition, though, he needs to recognize where he is and where he isn't.Overall, though, I think his talk was useful. The two main points I pulled from his address were 1) we have to talk about slavery and the genocide of the Native American people before we can start talking about race and 2) we have to take responsibility for our own hand in our struggles.

(left) Conrad Honicker and (right) Kendall Boone perform with the Issues Troupe.
Photo by Carlton Mackey

Kendall Boone is a Sociology Major at Emory. He is also a resident assistant, mentor, photographer for Black Star Magazine, and actor. He performed during the State of Race event as a member of the Issues Troupe.

I feel as though a lot of the controversy that has come out of the conversation is because it was titled State of Race and Spike Lee mainly talked about black white issues, and issues related to the black community. I didn’t see very much wrong with it because Spike Lee has historically been concerned about black white relations. In my experience, I can point out the difference he was talking about. Making fun of someone in AP classes makes sense to me and I understand why he chose the issue. What was important about his speech was that he acknowledged that. Does stereotyping really happen? Do they say, ‘why are you trying to act white’? It does happen.During the Q&A I was disappointed because Lee didn’t really answer any of the questions. He answered whatever he wanted and by-passed the questions completely. If he is actually homophobic, I’m glad he didn’t voice that. That would be another conversation. The way Lee handled controversial questions showed that he is conscious of his power and of who he is.

College Council leaders address the audience.
Photo by Carlton Mackey

Rachel Kanter is a senior at Emory University and a Psychology major. She is also the College Council Vice President of programming.

The purpose of State of Race is to start a dialogue and raise questions about race. Spike Lee did just that-- challenging African American students at Emory to resolve issues in their own community and exploring the inherent racism of American society. An eclectic and provocative thinker, Spike Lee also spoke against the anti-intellectualism of the African-American community, the degrading images in hip-hop, and the teaching of American history that omits full discussion of slavery and the extermination and exploitation of Native Americans.Responses to the presentation varied widely. Some people were disappointed because Mr. Lee didn't give a formal speech, but instead, spoke extemporaneously, giving his frank opinions and personal stories. Others, however, found his direct style refreshing, and more engaging. Certainly, everyone left with an opinion. Following the address, the State of Race learnlink conference overflowed with students' reflections and remarks on the content and style of Mr. Lee's speech. Several students and faculty voiced the hope that the issues raised during the question and answer session regarding the Emory community will prompt further discussion and positive action. We are just proud to have brought him here, since Spike Lee is one of the most important cultural influences on the issue of race.

Thank you Conrad, Kendall and Rachel for your thoughtful and thought-provoking responses. At the Center for Ethics, it is our intention to house this type of dialogue, as a safe space for cultivating student and community engagement. We invite you to share your opinions on these topics, the State of Race, or other issues that are important to you and relevant to ethics. Post a comment to the blog or contact chpowel@emory.edu.

Women in Science, is pregnancy a "short-term disability"?

2012-01-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

16 significant women in science for details visit: http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/

My entering class of 2002 at Emory University consisted almost entirely women with the exception of maybe 2-3 men in a large group of maybe 15 or so people. This super-sized class was a complete fluke--almost everyone who received offers from Emory chose Emory as their top pick that year to the chagrin of many fine graduate neuroscience programs. In retaliation, other schools moved their deadlines up the following year. I felt lucky to have such a large diverse class, like I had a better sampling of the population of future neuroscientists.

In a class full of intelligent, driven women, I wonder why most major university departments continue to be filled with men. Maybe there just hasn't been enough time, you say. But I think the problem may run deeper still. According to the findings presented at the National Summit on Gender and Postdoctorate fewer women from the get-go are considering becoming a Principal Investigator (P.I.) and running laboratories. I wouldn't at all say that the men in my program were obviously more capable then the women in my program of running a lab. In fact, I'd probably say the strongest scientists were women-no surprise, when most of the class is women--the odds are in their favor. According to this same data set, equal number of men and women of equivalent age are in the postdoctoral workforce spending an equivalent period of time in postdoctoral positions.

Viktor Koen: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/science/09tier.htm

The differences become unveiled when you look at the demographics of married men vs. women. The married women with children are underrepresented in the workforce. According to a general census in 2004, 75% of women and 60% of men between 30-34 have children. Most of these women are not postdocs. Do female postdocs have the resources they need to be postdoc moms? What about childcare? According to this study, about 40% of male postdocs have a female spouse who does not work, whereas 8% of female postdocs have a spouse that stays at home. Further, 42% of male postdocs have spouses who shoulder the childcare whereas women on 16% of women have a spouse who can provide free childcare. Why is childcare such a big deal? Have you seen an average postdoc salary? Well, I'll give you a clue--working at Starbuck's or Dollar General as a manager would give you equivalent if not more pay.

http://scienceprogress.org/2008/08/its-the-money-stupid/

But all right, is this something that's important to women? Do female scientists want to have children? 60% of female postdocs felt this was important. Yet 30% of women polled said they would be more likely to make concessions for their career than their spouses while 30% of male postdocs expected that their spouses would be more likely to make the concession. A PhD is, after all, not an easy road. Once you get it, you want to make use of it.

These data show that most women want to have children and with the average postdoc age of 30-34, the clock is ticking. And as progressive as you'd think an educated woman with a PhD might be, their spouses don't always tend to be equally progressive-meaning many men feel they should be out working and not in the home. However, these statistics may be changing.

At the time women are graduating and making that commitment to go the P.I. route and embarking on their postdoctoral positions, what kind of options do they have if they consider having children. Emory University is touted as being voted one of the "Best Places to Work for Postdocs" and I completely agree, except on this critical issue. Here's what Emory's Office of Postdoctoral Education states (this goes for almost any academic institution though):

"...postdocs must use both paid vacation leave and disability leave before sequentially taking unpaid leave up to 12 weeks" and "By the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Emory University postdoctoral fellows have a save position for twelve (12) weeks of leave for family reasons."

Their HR website states for faculty that they understand that having a child is a "natural process", blah, blah. However policy also suggest that postdocs apply for "disability" in order to get paid maternity leave. Semantics or not, this is really abhorrent and rampant sexism at it's finest. But that's just what this kind of insurance is called, you say? Yes, but this also implies having a child is not at all natural, but a "disability" that women bring with them into the workplace. What does the popular mind think of when hearing the term disability? Broken bones, thrown-out back, something that's not supposed to normally happen to your body. At least the FMLA ensures that you won't get fired during this time and at least not for up to 3 months. Wouldn't it behoove society to have it brightest procreating and raising more bright minds?

But here's some food for thought :

U.S. Only Industrialized Nation With No Paid Leave For New Parents

That's right, according to the International Labor Organization, you could get better maternity leave in Somalia or in the Congos as a postdoc or otherwise.

The second big issue reported by these data is lack confidence, which can be intimately related to the pressures of trying to raise a family. Women report feeling inadequate in a number of characteristics deemed necessary to succeed including "competitive drive" and "aggressiveness." Academic success is directly related to publications and successfully getting funding. As these are all extremely time sensitive, the "competitive drive" must translate into prioritizing the timing of grants acquisition and publications over the timing of starting a family.

This is not to say that every female scientist wants to have children, but it should be considered as "natural" thing to want them. The noticeable dwindling of female colleagues as one progresses through the ranks of graduate student to faculty does not inspire confidence is women floating in a sea of male dominated institutions. However, to be fair, while insecurities and the "imposter syndrome" are a problem for women, it also is an oddly prevalent sentiment in both male and female high-achieving academics.

http://www.brandeis.edu/programs/wgs/images/WIS_Imposter.jpg

We have a long way to go, but solutions to these issues are beginning to get addressed with forums such as the Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate hosted by the National Postdoctoral Association and with the development of forums and mentorship encouraged by local chapters of organizations like the Association of Women in Science and Women in Neuroscience. Perhaps, the most important immediate, daily line of action is to keep these topics in regular rotation in conversations at workplaces in academia. Throughout their training, women (and men) in science should continue to have open ongoing discussions about these concerns with both female and male role models. Most of all, these conversations should feel normal and natural rather than a feeling that alienates women from their peers.

--Karen S. Rommelfanger, PhD
Neuroethics Program

Dr. Karen Rommelfanger (a neuroscientist and neuroethics researcher) and Dr. Carmen Patrick Mohan (a physician and researcher) are co-creators of The Living Lab Notebook: Live data analysis of and resource for women in the sciences. To get involved or to learn more about contributing to this project please contact krommel@emory.edu or carmen.mohan@emory.edu

(This post was modified from the original version published on the author's former blog brainbowconnection.wordpress.com)

Resources for Women in Science:
Society for Neuroscience: Women in Neuroscience
Association for Women in Science
National Postdoc Association
International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists
World Women in Neuroscience

Center for Ethics Blogger Published in the AJC

2012-01-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

The following article describes the ups and downs of building a career as a twenty-something American amidst unprecedented economic instability and unemployment. It is the story of how I got to the Center for Ethics.

Like many of my peers, I went to graduate school to develop a more extensive repertoire of skills with the hope of jump-starting my career.When the economy tanked, I chose not to listen to all of the warnings about unemployment and have faith that with the right mix of important new relationships and arduous work, career options would appear.....

- Read more here

"Finding a Job by First Finding Yourself"

Photo taken by Carlton Mackey

Catherine Powell contributes to the blog and various publicity projects at the Center for Ethics.

Holiday Reading: Emory First Year Graduate Neuroscience Students Write about Neuroethics!

2011-12-29T20:09:00.000-08:00

Catching up on your holiday ethics readings? Why not ring in the New Year with some neuroethics?

This year, Emory's First Year Neuroscience Graduate Students were asked to write a blog post for the Neuroethics portion of their Neuroscience and Communications Course.

These posts were delivered in 4 weekly installments on The Neuroethics Blog hosted by Emory's Neuroethics Program. Students wrote commentaries on the following four neuroethics articles. To read the blogs click on the installment number.

Installment 4/4
Neuroethics: Give memory-altering drugs a chance Nature 476, 275–276 (2011)

Interested in the Ethics of Health Care?

2011-12-20T06:05:00.000-08:00

The Health Care Ethics Consortium of Georgia (HCECG) is a network of health care professionals and health care organizations, which provides professional ethics education, consultative services for health care professionals, and serves as partnership for practical ethics research. Consortium members share a common interest in bringing ethics analysis to patient care and organizational issues. The Consortium was started in 1994 following a 3 year planning period funded by the Emory University Center for Ethics and the Georgia Humanities Council. Faculty and staff at the Emory Center for Ethics provide leadership for the Consortium.

Faculty involved in the Consortium have been significantly involved in the public policy process in Georgia. In 2010 Kathy Kinlaw, Associate Director for the Center for Ethics and Director for the Consortium, led a working group in the drafting of Senate Bill 367, which created a process for consent for surgical or medical treatment for a patient who 1) does not have decision making capacity and 2) who lacks a family member or other surrogate authorized under Georgia law. The bill was signed by the Governor in the summer of 2010 and has been very helpful in identifying other individuals who are able to provide consent for treatment for those patients who can no longer make decisions for themselves. The Consortium continues to track implementation of the new law.

Each year the Consortium also hosts several educational workshops and an annual interdisciplinary conference. The March 2012 conference will address Mixed Messages: Ethical Tensions in Healthcare Conversations.

HCECG Director - Kathy Kinlaw

The Consortium welcomes your involvement. Let us know what issues you are interested in. (www.hcecg.org)

VISUALIZE RIGHTS ATLANTA Connects Human Rights with Art Communities

2011-12-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

Crowd gathers at Auburn Ave Research Library for Visualize Rights Atlanta 2011

The room was filled with people. One could hear the greetings, the well wishes, and the laughs of the group all blend together into an indistinguishable melody. We were pleasantly surprised by the turnout and were proud to be a part of such an event. The event was VISUALIZE RIGHTS ATLANTA –a community arts show by artists, community organizations, and activists illustrating and celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The event was organized by Human RightsAtlanta. What began as a coalition to commemorate the 60^th Anniversary of the UDHR, has become an annual tradition. Now in its fourth year, the group continues to use human rights as a framework to build connections in the city.

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the founding members of Human Rights Atlanta at an Ethics @ the Movies screening several weeks ago. After learning about their Visualize Rights project and being extended an invitation to participate, I was thrilled to connect the work of the Center for Ethics and the Ethics & theArts Initiative with it. For the Center’s contribution, I elicited the help of local artist Dane Jefferson. It was with Dane that I produced the documentary film 17 Degrees Ain’t Nothing and with whom the Center for Ethics partnered to produce the marketing material for the world premiere of the Testament of the Heart series.


WE ARE NOT ALL DRY YET by Carlton Mackey and Dane Jefferson

For this show we created a mixed media piece titled, We Are Not All Dry Yet. It illustrates Article 7 of the UDHR that affirms, “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law”. The piece combines photography, text, and painting to express the significance of this right in the context of the continent of Africa and what, to us, have been violations of this right. At the center of the piece is a red umbrella. Under the umbrella is a mosaic of photographic images representing people of the African descent that were taken during my travels throughout the continent of Africa and the United States. Surrounding the mosaic are stylized raindrops overlaid with text that highlight unique instances where citizens faced institutionalized, systematic abuse at the hands of authorities (law). Some of these instances include apartheid in South Africa, anti Gay laws in Uganda, and the systematic use of rape as an act of war in parts of the Congo. The raindrops are intentionally abstract in shape, texture, and color. Dark hues of gray, brown, and blue make up the drops creating the feel of, in essence, a storm of violations and misconduct. While those under the umbrella are symbolically protected from the storm by Article 7 (written on the umbrella), we are reminded by the text under the umbrella that we are not ALL dry yet.

Set in the context of the continent of Africa but certainly visible throughout the world, we are aware of the struggle to uphold the Universal Declaration. While it is an ideal and worthy of being upheld and celebrated, we know that it will take our collective effort to make it a full reality. Through events like this which seek to raise the universal consciousness of the community about both a written declaration of human rights and the struggle to defend them and through the utilization of art to convey these messages across the boundaries of race, class, sex, I am hopeful that that day will soon come.

Arts Café Showcases Social Justice and Young Musicians

2011-12-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

Hamzat Sani performs at 3rd Annual Ethics Art Cafe

The third annual Ethics Art Café event, co-hosted by the Center for Ethics and WonderRoot and organized by the Ethics and the Arts Society, was a fundraiser for Voices in the Treetops. The Ethics in the Arts Society is a pillar of the Ethics and the Arts Initiative and is led by Mariangela Jordan, Sabrina Bernstein, and Robert Grabowitz.

Voices in the Treetops' music program
supports young Burmese refugees

Jordan was excited about using this year's Cafe to offer support to Voices In the Treetops and its founder Paula Larke. The program offers music classes to 30-45 students in the Clarkston area, a majority of whom are refugees. "Larke is so dedicated", Jordan recounts, "she brings her personal instruments for the students to use and share".

Voices in the Treetops Performers

She went on to explain that Voices in the Treetops “goes beyond offering the students a hobby. There are very difficult social problems when it comes to refugees and especially refugee youth. They live in impoverished parts of the city where they share spaces with gangs and are sometimes victims of gang violence.” She says the music program is one of the few safe spaces that the youth have in the community to call their own.

Jordan highlighted the successes of the event by saying, “all of the people who were invited, the artists and poets, engaged their art for social change.” Jordan constructed the line-up out of some of her personal connections in the art community. Her hope was that new relationships could also be forged because of the event. Jordan stated that her charge was not just to donate money but to raise general awareness about important groups in the community utilizing the power of art to address relevant social issues.

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Gibson

Video produced by Mariangela Jordan - President, Ethics & the Arts Society

Researcher on Ethical Tensions of Sickle Cell Disease Selected as "Ebony Magazine's Annual Power 100"

2011-12-08T20:20:00.000-08:00

Friend of the Center for Ethics, Melissa Creary, recently made Ebony Magazine's Power 100 List. The Power 100 List also includes President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Soledad O'brien to name a few.

Melissa Creary, one of Ebony's Power 100

Creary is a graduate student in Emory's ILA (Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts) and recently was the Graduate Teaching Assistant for Professor Arri Eisen's Course held at the Center for Ethics: Science and the Nature of Evidence: Truth, Mind, & Body.

Creary is well-known as a leading researcher in the field of sickle cell research and, when she's not busy being a full-time graduate student, she also works at the Centers for Disease Control as a Health Scientist in the Division of Blood Disorders. Creary is, indeed, a powerhouse of energy and drive, and her drive comes straight from the heart. "My life’s passion is to raise awareness of the disease and to help increase quality of life for people who have it," says Creary.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that causes red blood cells to change shape (to a crescent shape or sickle shape). This change in blood cell shape obstructs normal blood flow and can result in a range of symptoms from mild to fatal. These symptoms include fatigue, pain, anemia, and stroke to name a few. There currently is no cure for sickle cells disease. Sickle cell disease has a history of a host of ethical issues including tensions for health care providers as they attempt to manage symptoms such as the fickle, intermittent nature of pain associated with the disease; genetic testing and selection of embryos negative for sickle cell disease; as well as its link to race and health care disparities. Scientists believe that sickle cell incidence is more prevalent in people of African descent because the trait was protective against Malaria.


Distribution of the sickle-cell trait shown in pink and purple

Historical distribution of malaria (no longer endemic in Europe) shown in green

Modern distribution of malaria

Creary was diagnosed at age 3 with sickle cell. "Although there have been many challenges, I have always thought of my disease as a blessing. It has molded my life and made me who I am."

Creary is coordinating a symposium entitled Sickle Cell Disease: Equity and Ethics for the Spring to include a keynote address and panel discussion on bioethics in sickle cell disease including the racialization of the disease, social determinants, public policy, treatment and care. Confirmed participants include Dr. Carlton Haywood, Jr. from the Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Camara P. Jones from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The symposium is co-sponsored by the Program for Science and Society, the Race and Difference Initiative, the Institute of Liberal Arts and the Center for Ethics. Stay tuned for more information!

--Karen S. Rommelfanger, PhD
Emory Center for Ethics, Neuroethics Program

Up at night: Dr. Helen O. Williams Reflects on Resident Work Hours

2011-12-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

Image from Cover Story of Winter 2011 Emory Health Magazine

The proceeding reflection by Dr. Helen Williams is in dialogue with the cover story of the Winter 2011 Issue of Emory Medicine Magazine. The issue is about shift rules for residents and interns at teaching hospitals. It remains to be seen whether or not the new rules achieve their intended result.
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A few weeks ago I was sitting in the physicians work area at 2 AM. I was waiting for the delivery of a high risk preterm infant that was expected to be imminent. I passed the time catching up on some charting and reading an article, and as I sat there, I was struck by the fact that I was all by myself. My residents had previously said goodnight and scurried off to their call rooms for a nap. It was ironic to me that they felt the need to sleep; after all, this was only a 12 hour shift for them. I would round on the unit the next morning and continue caring for patients until 4pm, when my partner would come for sign-out. And yet they slept and I didn’t; they had a call room and I didn’t. In that moment I felt like an old soul from a different generation even though I have only been an attending physician for 4 years. Sure this wasn’t walking uphill both ways in the snow, but I could claim the medical equivalent of that feat, having trained to a large degree before the enforcement of the physician duty hours.

The duty hours are certainly not a bad thing. Thanks in large part to the efforts on a bereaved father who also happened to be a journalist; the dangerous work habits of resident physicians were exposed. Indeed, at one time it was not atypical for residents to work continuously for 36 hours and clock 110 hour work weeks. Tired physicians made errors; sometimes life threatening errors. Tired physicians crashed their cars on their way home from work, making them a danger to themselves and others. Tired physicians also weren’t very nice people; they cut corners, they neglected their personal obligations, they could be curt and unpleasant. With public pressure mounting and the legislature ready to step in, the Accreditation Council for graduate medical education (the governing body that is responsible for residency training) opted for self-regulation and in 2003 limitations on physician work hours were made mandatory. Since then the regulations have been reviewed and rewritten and in many respects have become even more restrictive as to the length of time resident physicians are permitted to work. In most residency programs ‘call’ has disappeared and shift-work has taken its place. Nevertheless, the schedules for physicians outside of training and for nurse practitioners and physician assistants have not changed.

However, the effects of the duty hours have not all been positive. Many were shocked to discover that the incidence of medical errors did not fall after the implementation of resident physician work hours. One explanation for this was related to the need to transfer care between many more physicians – two or three in a 24 hour period. Errors could result from these often hurried “hand-offs” when details of a patient’s condition are not well relayed. Still others raised concerns that although our residents were well-rested, they were in fact not as well trained. Particularly in surgical specialties, it was an undeniable fact that residents have less opportunity to hone their skills due to limited opportunities. Concerns also were raised because of a phenomenon known as ‘work compression.’ Residents now had a limited time to complete a number of different tasks. In order to fit it all in, sitting and chatting with a patient was the first thing to go. What then, of all the free time we had now carved out? The intention was in large part to give our residents more time to read and study. In actuality, residents were becoming more like the rest of the workforce; claiming their free time as exactly that - ‘free’ time. Residents were having a life outside work!

Those of us who catch ourselves lamenting the ‘good old days’ usually share one common observation. We are concerned that the duty hours have changed our residents’ work ethic and, at times, excessively shifted the emphasis from caring for patients to caring for ourselves. When I talk to a family about a life-changing diagnosis and no resident is present to hear my approach, I worry, will they know what to say when their turn comes. I worry that their hours have caused them to miss procedural opportunities and interesting lectures. I worry that they are ill-prepared for their work life outside of residency. I worry that efficiency is over-emphasized at the expense of the interpersonal. It is not the endless hours of fatigue for which we are nostalgic, but rather the simple moments spent listening and holding someone’s hand because there is nowhere else that you need to be. And ironically, if you spend enough time thinking about how medicine has changed, it may well keep you up at night.

Dr. Helen Oribella Williams is a physician in pediatrics, neonatal and perinatal medicine, Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine at Emory, and student in the Master of Arts in Bioethics degree program housed at the Center for Ethics.

Does Occupy have an anthem? It might now.

2011-12-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

Atlanta student and activist songwriter Ariel Root Wolpe is part of the musical movement. Her song “Occupy” has gotten positive reviews from listeners around the city.

A Philadelphia native studying religion and music at Emory University, Wolpe said she was motivated to write the song after hearing “all the negativity the movement was getting.”

Read the Complete Article on CNN News Blog

Ethics & the Arts Initiative Partners with Human Rights Atlanta for VISUALIZE RIGHTS

2011-12-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

The Ethics & the Arts Initiative joins 29 other community organizations, Atlanta artists, and activists for VISUALIZE RIGHTS ATLANTA -a community art show illustrating and celebrating The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Carlton Mackey, Ethics & the Arts Initiative Chair, partnered with local artist Dane Jefferson to illustrate Article 7 (Right to Equality Before the Law). The two created a 31' x 34.5' mixed media piece titled "We Are Not All Dry Yet".

In the end, art representing 30 Atlanta organizations and all 30 UDHR articles will be on display to celebrate Human Rights Day! See below for list of organizations.

Opening reception: Saturday, December 10th
Location: Auburn Avenue Research Library
101 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303

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(Article chosen by organization listed)

1. Right to Equality (Georgia Undocumented Youth Alliance)

2. Freedom from Discrimination (Spark Reproductive Justice Now & Feminist Outlawz)

3. Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security (Hispanic News Service)

4. Freedom from Slavery (BLOCS)

5. Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment (Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty - GFADP)

6. Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law (Occupy Atlanta)

7. Right to Equality before the Law (Ethics & the Arts Initiative)

8. Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal (Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc)

9. Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile (Amnesty International, Atlanta local group 75)

10. Right to Fair Public Hearing (Eugene Cooke)

11. Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty (Fahamu Pecou Art)

12. Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence (Karen Cleveland)

13. Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country (Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights)

14. Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution (Refugee Family Services Afterschool Program)

15. Right to a nationality and Freedom to Change Nationality (Youth Empowered for Success Program at RFS)

16. Right to Marriage and Family (Georgia Equality)

17. Right to Own Property (Patricia Lacrete)

18. Freedom of Belief and Religion (iWonder Media Group)

19. Freedom of Opinion and Information (International Center of Atlanta)

20. Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association (Georgia Peace and Justice/Atlanta)

21. Right to Participate in Government and Free Elections (OCA-Georgia)

22. Right to Social Security (9 to 5 Atlanta)

23. Right to Desirable Work and Join Trade Unions (Teamsters Local 728)

24. Right to Rest and Leisure (Jobs with Justice Atlanta)

25. Right to Adequate Living Standard (Joe Tsambiras)

26. Right to Education (Georgia Safe Schools Coalition)

27. Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of the Community (WonderRoot)

28. Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document (US Human Rights Network)

29. Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development (Colleen Hackett)

30. Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights (International Action Center)

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Purpose: Human Rights Atlanta began nearly four years ago as a coalition to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then, it became an annual tradition to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on its adoption date of December 10th, known as International Human Rights Day. For our fourth celebration, HRA desires to continue this tradition with a special initiative designed to further network groups using the human rights framework in our city, building connections that lead to a stronger movement, mutual respect and coalition-building. The proposed art show also provides an opportunity for organizations to celebrate their work and publicize positive initiatives in our city.

Center for Ethics Monthly Clinical Ethics Seminar

2011-12-05T06:25:00.000-08:00

New Uses of Public Health Surveillance Data

to Improve HIV Care and Reduce Transmission:

The Ethical Challenges of Innovation

Leonard Ortmann, PhD

Public Health Ethicist, Office of Scientific Integrity

Office of the Associate Director of Science, Office of the Director

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

and

Patricia Sweeney, MPH

HIV Incidence and Case Surveillance Branch

Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011

Time: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Center for Ethics, Seminar Room 162

Monitoring linkage, retention, and success of care with HIV surveillance data is critical to public health efforts to prevent HIV in the U.S. Viral suppression achieved with antiretroviral therapy benefits both the individual by reducing morbidity and mortality and the population by reducing HIV transmission. Innovative public health activities to follow-up with individuals or their care providers that utilize HIV surveillance data have been proposed. For example, surveillance data can be used to assist care providers in prioritizing patients for follow-up who have been out of care or are receiving care elsewhere. Use of public health information exchange with collaborating facilities to provide clinic alerts for persons who have not received their diagnosis or have dropped out of care have also been proposed. However, these innovative interventions based on emergent science also create ethical challenges. We will examine ethical challenges of using surveillance data for the monitoring the care and retention in care of individuals against the backdrop of HIV exceptionalism and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

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**The Center’s Clinical Ethics Seminars are held monthly – 4^th Thursday of every month (except November and December which will be the 3^rd Thursday).

Emory University Center for Ethics,1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322

SPOTLIGHT ON ETHICS: Dr. Arri Eisen discusses Tibet, Buddhism, Science, and Teaching

2011-12-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

Watch the latest release of our SPOTLIGHT ON ETHICS film series. We interviewed Dr. Arri Eisen about his work with the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative. Dr. Eisen, senior lecturer in Biology and the Graduate Institute for Liberal Arts, speaks of the impact that teaching Tibetan Buddhists has had on the way he teaches.

Special Thanks to Dr. Eisen for sharing your innovative ideas and fascinating stories with us.

Series Produced by Carlton Mackey
Filmed and Edited by Cate Powell
Dharamsala Footage by Carol Beck

3rd Annual Ethics Art Cafe TONIGHT

2011-11-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-11-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-29T11:19:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-21T08:12:00.000-08:00

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.

2011-11-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

State of Race 2011

An Annual Conversation

Hosted by the 56th College Council

Featuring Oscar-Nominated Director

SPIKE LEE