2015 Undergraduate Ethics Symposium: Value & Virtual Spaces

Beginning on Thursday, April 9th, The Prindle Institute will host the eighth annual Undergraduate Ethics Symposium, “Value and Virtual Spaces,” which will encompass ethical concerns brought to the forefront by our increasingly technological modern society. From social media and video games, to online currency and net neutrality, there is an abundance of moral questions raised by the virtual world.

If you’re not hooked yet, ponder this…

Television and Internet use are probably the biggest time blocks of our daily lives as reported by the 2014 Internet Trends Report. In the United States, people spend an average of seven hours looking at screens daily. More specifically, that breaks down into a hundred and forty-seven minutes captivated by television, one hundred and three minutes glued to the computer, a hundred and fifty-one minutes attached to a smartphone, and forty-three minutes spent tablet in hand! In other words, almost half our waking hours are connected to screen use, and these hours continue to rise as technological advances fascinate society.

Although these technological advances come with many positives such as fast access to worldwide connections and information, the invasive power of technology may also have detrimental side effects to our society. From April 9th to the 11th, Value and Virtual Spaces honors symposium will host students from universities across the country where they will have the opportunity to present their best analytical/creative work on the theme of the Symposium or other areas of related ethical concern.

The Symposium will include the presentations below, open to all DePauw students and faculty.

“Ethics, Entrepreneurship and Disruption”
Patrick Bryne, Founder and CEO of Overstock.com
(April 9th 7:30pm)

“Navigating the Gendered Minefield of Online Harassment”
Anita Sarkeesian, Author of Video Blog Feminist Frequency
(April 10th 4:15pm)

“Oil, War, and Houses: The Ethics of Aesthetics of Accumulation and Waste”
Matt Kenyon, Professor at Stamps School of Art & Design at University of Michigan
(April 10th 7:00pm)

“Leaps and Bounds: Toward a Normative Theory of Inferential Privacy”
Solon Barocas, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University
(April 11th 10am)

Please visit depauw.edu/prindle for more information. We look forward to seeing you there!