Teaching Caselettes
The Institute regularly partners with organizations at Duke and beyond to provide workshops on various topics. Recent work includes partnering with DukeEngage to provide workshops on the “ethics of engagement” for undergraduate students preparing for national and international civic engagement projects. The Institute also provided workshops on leadership and ethics in conjunction with local organizations and businesses. These case studies were used as teaching tools in these workshops.
The Giving Tree (2009)
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This case study examines the ethics of altruism through the lens of Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Is altruism always good? Do moral agents ever truly behave altruistically?
Keywords: altruisum, egoism, love, wellbeing, good, happiness, selfless
Lincoln and Thoreau (2008)
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Abraham Lincoln and Henry David Thoreau were both morally opposed to slavery, but expressed their opposition in different ways.
Keywords: hypocrisy, integrity, moralist, moderate, obedience, conscience, law
Mayor Carcetti (2008)
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In Season Four of HBO’s The Wire, Mayor Tommy Carcetti must choose between his long-term political ambitious and the short-term needs of his city.
Keywords: hypocrisy, integrity, moralist, moderate, political ethics, ambition
McDougald Terrace, Durham (2008)
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A student working in an academic and mentoring program in a Durham, North Carolina, housing project must decide how to respond to a disruptive 6-year-old whose mother needs the childcare the program provides to stay in her own job.
Keywords: civic engagement, community service, urban poverty, applied ethics
Muhuru Bay, Kenya (2008)
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An American student at a civic engagement site is faced with the choice of whether, against the express wishes of the community, to take an HIV-positive child on a dangerous overnight drive to a medical clinic.
Keywords: study abroad, civic engagement, community service, AIDS, applied ethics
Product (RED) (2008)
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Product (RED) encourages private corporations to donate money to public health organizations in developing countries and has raised a great deal of money for Africa, yet the program is not without its critics.
Keywords: hypocrisy, integrity, moralist, moderate, charity, profit, philanthropy, incentives
