Applying ethical reasoning to our personal, professional and civic lives works best when you invite people with different perspectives to the conversation.
Elev8 Ethics is a new initiative of ERiA that will include podcasts, a lecture series, and events on campus. The idea behind this initiative is to open the door to collaboration and partnerships with other programs on campus to bring awareness to ethical issues that we all face in our daily and professional lives.
The first Elev8 Ethics Lecture Series welcomed Dr. Travis Rieder, an associate research professor at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, where he directs the Master of Bioethics degree program. Rieder spent the day at JMU visiting with students, faculty, and staff to talk about personal ethical decision-making in a time dominated by massive, structural threats that are too big and too complex for any one of us to meaningfully address on our own — the subject of his second book, Catastrophe Ethics (Dutton, March 2024).
UPDATE: Ethical discourses for and against doping in sport philosophy
In our last newsletter, Dr. Doug Hochstetler talked about his interdisciplinary approach to mapping the ethical discorse around sport doping with Dr. Fletcher Linder and former KIN 304 student, Jason Ball. We are excited to announce their work is now available online in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport. You can read the entire article here.
Samuel Hernandez Oviedo, PhD
The 8KQ in the Spanish classroom – Dr. Samuel Hernandez, ERiA Faculty Fellow
Students in SPAN 320, an advanced course of Spanish written and oral communication, received the first ever printed 8KQ card in Spanish! We have four 30-minute in-class discussions on issues such as AI, climate change, and mental health where students can use these cards to generate questions and continue the ethical conversation in Spanish. In the future, I plan to translate more ERIA materials and engage our local and global community.
Maureen Shanahan, PhD
8KQ and Art History – Dr. Maureen G. Shanahan, ERiA Faculty Fellow
Professor Maureen G. Shanahan, an art historian in the School of Art, Design and Art History, developed an ERiA scenario for her spring section of the General Education course, ARTH 206: Survey of World Art II: Renaissance to Modern. {Link}The scenario presented the ethical problem of restitution via the case study of Nigeria’s demand for the return of the “Benin bronzes,” a collection of cultural objects acquired during the process of British colonialism and now in the British Museum in London. About fifty students analyzed the Benin repatriation scenario using the Eight Key Questions ethical reasoning strategy. On October 1st, 2024 the School of Art, Design, and Art History will celebrate the new release of Dr. Shanahan's new book, Machine Modernism, Masculinity, and the Trauma of War: The Art of Fernand Léger, published by Penn State Press.
Ethical Reasoning Educators: Elevating their Experience
The 2023-2024 academic year was a successful one for ERiA's Ethical Reasoning Educators: Over 1,300 students were contacted by Ethical Reasoning Educators at 7 wellness passport events and 9 Ethical Reasoning on Campus tables. ERE's supported It's Complicated Online, wrote originial scenarios for wellness passports events and created a workbook focusing on the top 10 ethical issues first year students - all while maintaining excellent grades, their involvement in other student organizations and jobs! This is truly a special group of JMU students. If you know of a JMU student who might enjoy becoming an 8KQ expert through this volunteer position, send them the link to our online application.
Second Annual INITI8 Institute is a Success
Professionals from 6 different higher education institutions gathered for JMU’s unique ethical reasoning for learning improvement conference. The INITI8 Institute provides a week of ethical reasoning training and learning improvement instruction, while encouraging attendees to stretch their understanding of ethics education and create a plan for making impactful change at their institutions on various levels.
This years' international cohort included professionals from Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, Indiana and Canada, alongside special guests from JMU and Ph.D. candidates from our very own Center for Assessment and Research Studies.
The Class of 2028 encountered the updated version of It's Complicated Online this year. As part of ERiA's efforts to improve effectiveness of ethical reasoning on campus, experienced faculty and staff collaborated to revise the Canvas version of It’s Complicated. Their collective insights generated new online activities and focused content resulting in a more engaging and clear online learning experience in Canvas, JMU's learning management system.
Once they arrived on campus, students received nearly 1,000 It's Complicated T-shirts during the first week of class celebrating their choice to come to JMU and reminding them to use the Eight Key Questions when facing an ethical dilemma.
October 2nd, 2024 - Elev8 Ethics presents: Navigating the Legal Landscape: Ethics, Careers, and Legalities with Civil Litigation Lawyer Paulo Franco.
October 15th, 2024 - Elev8 Ethics: Ethics and the More-Than-Human-World: A Conservation Photographer's Perspective with award-winning wildlife photographer, Steven Johnson. Registration is required for this event.
October 24, 2024 - Elev8 Ethics presents: Eunoia Theatre’s 2024 production of ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ by Heidi Schreck
understanding why you practice ethical reasoning every day?
Does your course have an ethics component, but you are in need of fresh ideas for an ethics-based classroom activity? Contact us. We can schedule a time to talk about how to tailor the Eight Key Questions strategy to meet your classroom needs.
Already using the 8KQ? Tell us! How are you using the 8KQ in your classes, programs, work, research, professional and daily life? Hearing your stories and, with your permission, reading them in an upcoming ERiA newsletter helps to nurture the JMU academic community into a culture where ethical reasoning flourishes!
