Learning the Art of Civil Discourse; Ole Miss University of Mississippi News, October 22, 2021

STAFF REPORT,  Ole Miss University of Mississippi News; Learning the Art of Civil Discourse

Students apply ethical theory for decision-making and policy

"The Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Mississippi is offering two events in the next few weeks exploring the ethical issues of timely topics.

Just Conversations is a fun event run by students from the Ethical Policy Debates class to explore ethical issues and think about potential solutions through low-key conversation on two hot-button issues. The event is an in-person reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday (Oct. 25) in the Bryant Hall Gallery. Register by 5 p.m. Friday (Oct. 22) at https://forms.gle/xCS1QNTpZvnvtxQv9.

The second event, The Great Debate of 2021, poses the question “Should patents be waived on COVID-19 vaccines to increase global vaccination rates?” The virtual event on Nov. 11 features presentation of a debate followed by a Q&A between the teams, expert panelists and the audience. All are welcome to attend virtually, especially members of the campus community.

“The Dialogue and Deliberation Initiative events, both Just Conversations and The Great Debate of 2021, bring people together to discuss ethical problems that involve multiple perspectives, competing interests and complex empirical issues in a civil format for productive outcomes,” said Deborah Mower, a UM associate professor of philosophy and the Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hume Bryant Associate Professor of Ethics.

“We will be focusing on three topics from the slate of fall 2021 Regional Ethics Bowl cases.”

Ole Miss students are conducting research to prepare for discussions about rock climbing on federally protected indigenous cultural sites, the Disney company image and COVID-19 vaccine patents.

“There is no better educational model than the Ethics Bowl for teaching students how to apply ethical theory for decision-making and policy while at the same time fostering skills crucial for civil dialogue,” Mower said."

Anthropology grad students bring Ethics Bowl home; Cornell Chronicle, May 1, 2018

Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, Cornell Chronicle; Anthropology grad students bring Ethics Bowl home

"Cornell’s team won the Society for American Archaeology Ethics Bowl April 12 in Washington, D.C. Cornell was making its first appearance in the competition, which has been held for 14 years.

The Ethics Bowl pits teams of undergraduate and graduate students from different universities in debates about ethical dilemmas archaeologists encounter during their work. Teams are given hypothetical cases and must use their academic knowledge of various ethical guidelines and laws, as well as their research and fieldwork experiences, to formulate and defend their solutions.

Teams are graded on their responses and their handling of “curveball” questions. The cases for this year’s bowl were on occupational safety and heritage management, colonial monuments and indigenous rights, looting and the antiquities trade, plagiarism, and funding for research and ethics training."