Liberal Arts Voices

Read the perspectives of our current students

Rock Ethics Institute Honors Thesis Research Awards for Paterno Fellows

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Call for Applications

Proposal Deadline: March 28, 2016

Rock Ethics Institute Honors Thesis Research Awards are for undergraduate students in the Paterno Fellows Program who are working on ethics-related topics in their theses.

The Rock Ethics Institute Award will provide a range of financial support (from $500 to $2,000) for thesis research and related activities. Following the completion of their honors theses, awardees will be asked to present their research at an Institute event. Awardees will also be asked to contribute a blog post on their research for the Everyday Ethics page. Awardees will be informed of all Rock Ethics Institute events, and will be invited to participate in any events that are of interest to them or which would benefit their research.

For more information and to apply, visit: http://rockethics.psu.edu/this-is-the-rock/funding-opportunities/honors-thesis-research-award

“Morality, Ethics, and Digital Life”

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Carrie James, Research Director and Principal Investigator at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education, presents “Morality, Ethics, and Digital Life,” on April 4, at 7:00 p.m. in the Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library.

This lecture is free and open to the public.

james.jpgEngagement with digital media–including use of social media and content sharing sites–is a routine aspect of life today. These media are particularly salient in the lives of young people, many of whom can’t imagine their lives without them. Whether acknowledged or not, there are moral and ethical dimensions to the many decisions routinely faced and made in online communities–for example, decisions about self-representation and self-expression; disclosure of personal information; and creation, appropriation, and sharing of content. In this talk, Carrie James will explore moral and ethical dilemmas in digital life. She will share findings from a multi-year, qualitative study of young people’s approaches to online life and consider the implications, particularly for education.

For more information and to download the poster: http://www.rockethics.psu.edu/bios/james.shtml

Ethics Course Requirement

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As you choose courses for Fall 2013, keep in mind that Paterno Fellows must complete an ethics course for 3 or more credits before graduation.  The ethics course can be taken at any time, whether you are an aspiring or admitted Fellow.  Check this list of approved ethics courses to get started.  If you wish to propose another course for consideration, you should write to the Director.

Stand Up Award Recipients Announced

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branch.jpgThe Rock Ethics Institute has announced the recipients of the 2012 Stand Up Award.  The Stand Up Award honors Penn State undergraduate students who have the courage and fortitude to take an ethical stand for a person, cause or belief, and thereby demonstrate ethical leadership concerning this issue.  This award and the individuals and stories it honors will remind the entire Penn State community of how often the extraordinary act is possible in ordinary circumstances.

Four students were honored at a reception on April 22.  Each student received $1000, and will be featured in a poster campaign to promote ethical leadership.  Three of the four awardees for 2012 are in the College of the Liberal Arts, and one, Joshua Brady Branch, is a Paterno Fellow.  Here is his story:

Joshua Brady Branch was not your typical high school athlete and Eagle Scout. The bullying he dealt with growing up led Josh to identify with members of other marginalized groups and become a vocal supporter of his high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. His advocacy for the LGBTQ community has continued at Penn State, where he has been a persistent and courageous voice against discrimination. As a participant in dialogues across the community, Joshua reminds us that ethical leadership can occur through seemingly small, everyday encounters.

Watch Joshua’s video interview online, and learn about the other awardees on the Rock Ethics Institute’s website.

Lost in the World, the Journey of Bea

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Learning how to be an ethical being and true to your raw soul is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks in life.  Growing into ourselves, learning who we are, and admitting to our shortcomings takes courage.  In fact, it may take a lifetime to figure ourselves out.  Can we be alone with ourselves at the end of the day and enjoy the company we keep even in the barest of moments?  Are we honestly good people?

After reading Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy through an ethical lens with Dr. Sherry Roush in her Italian course, I began to ask myself these moral questions.  One cannot help but evaluate themselves while reading The Divine Comedy. 

The reader follows all of Dante’s ethical dilemmas and learns moral lessons as Dante takes the pilgrimage through the underworld and beyond.  Along the way, Dante the pilgrim learns of the roots of sin, righteous zeal, and the suffrage involved in the purging of sin to reach one’s ultimate happiness/goal, among many other things. 

Dante’s arduous odyssey indirectly demands the reader to re-evaluate their own conscience and face their fears that are often horribly uncomfortable.  However, it is out of this discomfort that we have the most potential for growth.  The pilgrim is subjected to horrid discomfort in order to differentiate good from evil.  Sometimes we must see the ugly in order to learn how to be good. 

Perhaps one of the lines from the Comedy that spoke to me most was from Canto XXII when the soul of St. Benedict says to Dante, “The flesh of mortals is so weak: on earth a good beginning does not last as long as the oak’s springing to the acorn’s birth ” (ln. 85-87, pg. 230, Musa). 

We as mortals are indeed weak, but we can work to be good, because we have the free will to make that choice.  We only hope that we can have the courage to choose good, and seek the path of righteousness in our own life and take up our challenges just as Dante is called to do in the comedy.        

The aforementioned message, among many other moral messages, jumped out at me upon completing The Divine Comedy.  I felt so inspired.  I knew I had to share this with others, and make this brilliant text, with its valuable lessons, more accessible to non-literature and Italian students.  Hence, the birth of my Capstone project for the Italian department.

For my Capstone project I have decided to share Dante’s epic tale the best way I know how to share something special to me, and that is through the medium of dance.  Specifically, I am currently organizing a dance production inspired by Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. 

In addition to studying Italian at PSU, I am also a dance major through integrative arts.  At the end of the last spring semester I held auditions for my Capstone project.  I currently have twelve dancers who are now educated on the comedy thanks to Dr. Roush, who came in and guest lectured to my cast on the comedy.   

I am truly grateful for Dr. Roush and the College of the Liberal Arts.  Thanks to the generosity of the Italian department and the College of the Liberal Arts, I have been able to buy equipment this past summer and build set pieces for my Capstone production.

Maria Malizia and Set.jpgMaria Malizia Divine Comedy.jpg

I am very, very excited to have the opportunity to combine my passions at Penn State and I hope you can make it out to the show, which is entitled, Lost in the World, the Journey of Bea!    The show will take place this December, 2011, and the proceeds of the show will benefit Penn State Project Haiti.  Look for posts to come with more details on show times and venue!  

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 28

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Episode 28 of Liberal Arts Voices is also our first podcast of the 2011-12 academic year.  To all our dedicated listeners out there, we are happy to say we’re back!  What better way to start our season than with a thrilling conversation on a current hot topic: food ethics.

Brill Professor of Women’s Studies, English, and Science Technology and Society Susan Squier and History major and Paterno Fellow Lisa Lotito join Liberal Arts Voices to discuss numerous issues at the center of contemporary food ethics debates.  This podcast was inspired by the recent event “Key Issues in Food Ethics: A Paterno Fellows Town Hall Forum” in which faculty members and first-year aspiring and admitted Paterno Fellows discussed similar topics.

Professor Squier, Dean Long, and Lisa continue the conversation on this episode of Liberal Arts Voices. They consider a variety of relevant topics and questions. What do people think of when they hear terms like organic, local, and sustainable?  Is there a disparity between expert knowledge in this field and beginners’ understandings of these issues? What is our responsibility to the production and consumption of the food we eat?  How do personal, social and economic factors contribute to an ontology of ignorance? (You have to listen to the podcast to figure out what ontology of ignorance means). What do undergraduate students think about these issues and why?  How is or should Penn State be engaging with these issues?

If you are interested in these issues, make sure to check out the Rock Ethics Institute’s 2011-12 Lecture Series on Food Ethics.  Distinct faculty members and specialists will be speaking on campus throughout the year on a variety of topics related to food ethics.  In the meantime, listen to Episode 28 of Liberal Arts Voices:

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 28

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

Key Issues in Food Ethics : A Paterno Fellows Town Hall Forum (and Reception) for First-Year Students

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Danger in the Corn
Originally uploaded by Roger Smith

Tuesday, August 30
4:00-5:30p.m. (with reception to follow)
HUB, Heritage Hall

Co-Sponsored by the Rock Ethics Institute and the Center for Democratic Deliberation

Few issues animate Penn State students more than those related to food ethics.  Under what conditions is it ethical to eat animals?  Is genetically engineered food both safe and ethical?  Does the government have a responsibility to address the problem of obesity–or is it a matter for individuals only?  Should we strive to consume only those foods that are grown locally, under sustainable conditions?  Do we have a responsibility to explore who benefits and who is harmed by the production of the foods we eat–and if so, what should each of us do?  Should corporations be allowed to patent the seeds they develop through research?

In this event specifically designed for Paterno Fellows (it is a required for Paterno Fellows freshmen), students will debate these and related issues in a Town Hall Forum.  First, a panel of faculty experts will frame the issues.  What are the most pressing controversies, challenges, or problems relating to food production or consumption, and what kinds of questions need to be raised?  What makes these controversies, challenges, or problems ethical issues? Are they local, national, or global problems?  Who are the stakeholders, and what approaches currently are being employed to address those challenges or problems? 

The experts enlisted to introduce the issues include Paul Thompson (W. H. Kellogg Professor of Agricultural, Food, and Community Ethics at Michigan State University); Leland Glenna (an award-winning faculty member in Penn State’s College of Agriculture); Susan Squier (Brill Professor of Women’s Studies, English, and Science Technology and Society–check out her Poultry Science, Chicken Culture blog spots); Don Thompson (Penn State professor of food science); Bryan McDonald (a Penn State professor whose book Food Security appeared last year); and Paterno Fellows senior Lisa Lotito (whose honors thesis in philosophy deals with food ethics).

Then for most of the sessions students will discuss the issues themselves in small groups of ten, develop recommendations, and share those recommendations in a Town Hall forum created by students involved with the College of the Liberal Arts Center for Democratic Deliberation.

Following the event, students will have a chance (as refreshments are served) to engage faculty and each other at a reception in Heritage Hall. 

First-year aspiring Paterno Fellows are required to attend unless they have a class conflict.

(Final note:  Prepare for the Forum, if you wish, by attending Paul Thompson’s lecture on Monday, August 29 at 3:;00 p.m. in Foster Auditorium in Pattee Library.  His title is “What Makes Food Good?)

How I Spent My Spring Vacation

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Looking for an interesting thing to do over Spring Break?  Here’s an announcement that caught my eye:

Ethics Film/Video Competition

The Rock Ethics Institute announces a new short film competition designed to encourage Penn State students to engage their creativity and ethical sensitivities by producing short films/videos on ethics. Films (up to five minutes) can focus on an ethical issue or one that enhances our appreciation of the importance of being ethical. The competition is open to all undergraduate students. All finalists and semi-finalists will have their entries posted on the Rock Ethics Institute’s YouTube page. Finalists will be honored at a ceremony in April 2010 during which they will be presented with a $500 award. Deadline for submissions is March 19, 2010. Complete guidelines and instructions are available on the Rock Ethics Institute’s web site. 

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