Ethics in Culture

50 Shades has swept audiences off their feet, selling 100 million copies worldwide, and making $237.7 million in its global opening in theaters. In many ways, this success could have been predicted by its eerie similarity to other phenomenally profitable franchises (ahem…Twilight), but in other ways, what 50 Shades presents is entirely new. The series … Continue reading "Let’s Talk About…50 Shades of Grey (Part I)"

This post by Dr. Jeff McCall was originally published by The Indy Star. Let’s remember a key fact as we prepare snacks and grab the remote to watch the Super Bowl. The people playing in the game are important only because they happen to be good at football. They aren’t super heroes. They aren’t necessarily good at … Continue reading "Media Have Warped Our Perception Of Athletes"

Receiving employment after prison can be difficult for many who are released; in fact, unemployment can lead to multiple offenses in the long run. While rehabilitation is generally good for society, are there certain jobs that convicted felons should not be allowed to have? There are certainly restrictions on jobs, such as sex offenders cannot work … Continue reading "Convicted Felons in Professional Sports"

I have been a student athlete for as long as I can remember. From personal experience, it is not an easy task. Learning how to balance schoolwork with a regimented athletic schedule places a lot of pressure on a person. Not only must a student athlete excel in the classroom in order to keep grades … Continue reading "Student-Athletes: Expectations and Responsibilities"

Among my friends, I would be one of the first to readily admit one thing: I love dogs. Pugs, specifically. My personal allegiance to my family’s dog aside, pugs are one of my favorite animals. If I need to take a break from studying or writing a paper, chances are decent that I’ll log on to … Continue reading "An Unhealthy Obsession: Pugs and the Demand for Cuteness"

Facebook is a place used for self-expression; many people use it to update others about their lives or post about how they’re feeling. Anthony Elonis, a man from Pennslyvania, used Facebook to rant about his divorce. However, Elonis was not just posting about his ex-wife and the divorce, but posting violent messages such as “there’s one … Continue reading "Rap on Facebook and the Supreme Court"

We have all heard it before: the kid out on the baseball field shouts, “you hit like a girl.” Adults do it too. In fact, just last fall my sister’s soccer coach yelled to his son, “you’re running like a girl,” upsetting many parents in the crowd. To many, to be “like a girl” means … Continue reading "‘Like a Girl:’ A cultural context"

By Erik Kwakkel This post was originally posted at Medieval Books, and is posted here with Dr. Kwakkel’s permission.  Old furniture, broken cups, worn-out shoes and stinky mattresses: we don’t think twice about throwing things out that we don’t need anymore. And books? Here things are a bit different. Apart from the fact that you may find … Continue reading "Destroying Medieval Books – And Why That’s Useful"

Come out to Prindle on Tuesday, November 4 at 7 PM for a screening of the film Kids for Ca$h, a riveting, non-fiction thriller about a judicial scandal that shocked America when it catapulted to the headlines in January of 2009, and lead to the wrongful jailing of over 3,000 kids.  The issue of zero tolerance policies … Continue reading "Kids for Ca$h Documentary Screening and Panel Discussion"

One would certainly hope that, as far as environmental regulation goes, we are better off than we were fifty years ago. We would hope that novels like Rachel Carson’s ground-shifting Silent Spring, a work chronicling the dangers of the U.S. chemical industry, have made enough of an effect to prevent the author’s dystopian predictions from becoming a … Continue reading "Politicizing a Tragedy, 30 Years after Bhopal"

Joe Heithaus, professor of English at DePauw University, read several poems at The Campus Farm Dinner in October. Here he is reading a famous poem called  “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry. Poetry (and the arts generally) is a great way to raise awareness or just inspire contemplation on critical issues of our … Continue reading "The Peace of Wild Things – Poetry Reading"

The Conflict Studies Program, The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics, and the Department of Art and Art History are thrilled to announce an upcoming visit by artists Jon Rubin and Dawn Weleski, and chef Robert Sayre, of Conflict Kitchen. We will welcome them to campus the week immediately following fall break. Public events include: Public … Continue reading "Conflict Kitchen will be hosted Oct. 27-30 by Prindle, Conflict Studies and the Art Department"

That’s right. This post has the word “ain’t” in its title. So what? In a recent interview, Harvard University Professor of Psychology and celebrated writer, Stephen Pinker, explains the “curse of knowledge,” and his perspective that academia has placed too many old-ruled restrictions on how writers should or should not write. Explaining that the word “ain’t,” … Continue reading "Literary Hazing “Ain’t” Ethical"

Season 4 of the FX television series, “American Horror Story” just premiered this past Wednesday night with their newest season titled, “Freak Show”.  Although I am a huge fan of the AHS series, something about this particular season did not sit right with me. Don’t get me wrong, cinematically,  it looks like it will be … Continue reading "American Horror Story: Freak Show"

Come out to Prindle on Monday, October 13 at 5:30 PM for a dinner and discussion about the ethics of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation occurs when someone from one culture takes or uses something from another culture. What is taken can be a physical artifact, such as when an archaeologist takes an ancient relic and … Continue reading "Cultural Appropriation Dinner & Discussion on Oct.13"

The introduction of technology in the classroom seems like a win-win situation, but psychologists and neuroscientists are hesitant to write handwriting off as a thing of the past. From learning to read to generating new ideas, studies have proven that handwriting enhances a child’s ability to learn. Studies also revealed that messy handwriting also has … Continue reading "Making the Case for Cursive"

Originally appeared in The Indianapolis Star The Federal Communications Commission is supposed to ensure that the electronic media serve the public interest. A current FCC rule, however, works primarily to serve the interests of a few of America’s wealthiest individuals. That’s why the FCC appears poised to end its blackout rule for National Football League games. … Continue reading "Time to Give NFL’s Blackout Rule the Boot"

The NFL is not the only professional sporting league to be affected by the growing discussion of domestic violence. Hope Solo, the goal-keeper of the women’s professional soccer team, has been accused of two counts of domestic violence, according to Washington Post columnist Cindy Boren.  Solo continues to play without repercussions even while waiting for her November … Continue reading "Domestic Violence in Athletics: An Epidemic?"

On Monday, September 8, 2014, Atlanta Hawks owner, Bruce Levenson, announced that he would be giving up his team after an investigation uncovered a racially charged email he had written in August 2012. After being confronted about the email, and fully admitting to his hurtful and racist comments, CNN reports that Levenson decided it would … Continue reading "Racism Has No Business in Basketball"

Few events are as captivating of the human imagination as the apocalypse. Whether seen in ancient religious texts or modern novels and video games, on some level it seems we’re all concerned with and captivated by how it’s all going to end. But when such a fascination begins to reflect real life, are there any ethical … Continue reading "Apocalypse Now: Hollywood and the End of the World"