Team Kenan at the Kenan Institute for Ethics » Events

Big Questions: Animal Ethics, Feb. 18

Team Kenan — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 16:36:21 +0000

This week’s Big Questions session tackles issues surrounding animal ethics. Do animals have any rights that we should recognize as universal? Should we value wildlife and pets according to different rubrics? Is it okay to eat animals? Under what circumstances is not acceptable to eat them? This topic was inspired by Nihir’s recent Devil’s Dilemma post about a New Zealand economist who has recommended a on ban cats in order to protect the many endemic and endangered species of birds in his country.

Join us in West Duke 103 for snacks and conversation Monday, February 18^th from 3:30 until 5pm. No RSVP is necessary; this event is free and open to everyone.

Do Lunch with Kevin Trapani, Nov. 29

Team Kenan — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 15:57:49 +0000

Think business and ethics should intersect? Meet a business leader who argues that the key to his company’s success is doing the right thing. Kevin Trapani is president and chief executive officer of The Redwoods Group, an insurance provider specializing in YMCAs, Jewish Community Centers and nonprofit resident camps around the nation. The Redwoods Group is renowned as a leader in corporate social responsibility and was recently named one of the best companies for the world in terms of overall impact by B Lab.

A 1979 Duke University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Trapani is a regular speaker on sustainability and corporate social responsibility at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is currently participating in a year-long Latino Initiatives study group for the University of North Carolina’s Center for International Understanding to help Triangle leaders better serve the needs of Mexican immigrants.

Prior to forming The Redwoods Group in 1997, Trapani was executive vice president of Burlington Insurance Group, senior vice president and chief underwriting officer of Coregis Insurance Group and held senior leadership positions at Great American Insurance Companies and the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. Trapani also started the first statewide health maintenance organization in New Jersey.

When: November 29^th from noon to 1:30pm
Where: 101 West Duke Building

Lunch will be provided for the first 25 to RSVP by November 27^th. Click here to RSVP.

The Politics of Boycotts

Team Kenan — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:24:42 +0000

Team Kenan presents the second discussion in its ongoing The Politics of… discussion series. This event will focus on the ethics of consumer activism through boycotts. Boycotts are often associated with the struggle for civil rights in the American South, but in recent years calls for consumer boycotts of products and brands have increased, with mixed results.

Can we admire the benefits of collective action while being mindful of the collateral harm caused to people impacted by boycotts? Do the ends justify the means? Come talk about the strategy, structure, and symbolism behind boycotts throughout history.

This discussion will feature Amy Laura Hall, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Duke Divinity School.

What: The Politics of Boycotts
Where: Link Classroom Room 2, Perkins Library
When: November 7^th at 6pm

Please note this event has been moved from Link Seminar 2 to Link Classroom 2!
This event is free and open to the public.

Do Lunch with Greg Constantine

Team Kenan — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:30:43 +0000

Team Kenan invites you to the first Do Lunch event of the year: a conversation with Greg Constantine, photographer and human rights journalist.

Over the past five years, photographer Greg Constantine has been working to bring to light the stories of stateless people around the world and give a human face to this global issue. Nowhere People reveals the impact of statelessness on people and communities who find themselves excluded from society by forces beyond their control. The project serves as a reminder of the existence of the millions of stateless people who are hidden and forgotten around the world. Constantine received three grants from the United Nations High Council on Refugees in order to complete this important project.

Photographs from the Nowhere People series have received the Society of Publishers in Asia Award, Days Japan Special Jury Prize, the Human Rights Press Award, and were shortlisted for the Amnesty International Media Award for Photojournalism. His first book, Kenya’s Nubians: Then & Now was published in 2011 and his second book, Exiled To Nowhere: Burma’s Rohingya was released in June 2012. Both are part of a series of books from his project Nowhere People that aim to highlight the issue of global statelessness.

When: November 2^nd from noon to 1:30pm
Where: 101 West Duke Building

Lunch will be provided for the first 25 to RSVP by October 31^st. Click here to RSVP.

The Politics of Google and Global Speech

Team Kenan — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:37:09 +0000

Team Kenan kicks off its fall series The Politics of… October 11^th with The Politics of Google and Global Speech. The recent controversy surrounding YouTube’s role in hosting (and in selected cases blocking access to) the inflammatory video trailer for “The Innocence of Muslims” has raised many questions about the role of corporations in policing speech around the world. Google’s stance on free speech closely mirrors laws and norms in the United States, but those same policies chafe with policy and culture in many parts of the globe. Is this a case of American cultural imperialism? Is this an example of the Internet making the world more free? Should states or corporations be the arbiters of what information people can access? Ken Rogerson, Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Sanford School of Public Policy will join us to talk about how to corporate policy and culture intersect—and what, if anything, we should do about it.

What: The Politics of Google and Global Speech
Where: Link Seminar Room 2, Perkins Library
When: October 11^th at 6pm

This event is free and open to the public.

Student Open House August 31st

Christian — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:58:53 +0000

The Institute welcomes students to campus with an open house from 3pm to 5pm on Friday, August 31^st. Come join us for cupcakes and conversation as we gear up for the new year! The event will be held in Room 101 in the West Duke Building, across the hall from the main office of the Kenan Institute for Ethics.

What Is Good Art Exhibition open through May 13

Team Kenan — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:08:56 +0000

Team Kenan invites you to view the Third Annual What Is Good Art? Exhibition. The show features selections made by our distinguished panel of judges from the entries of the 2012 What Is Good Art? Competition. This year’s show is entitled Artifice, in reference to the theme of the 2012 What Is Good Art? Competition: How much truth can art bear?

The gallery space spans the main section of the first-floor hallway of the West Duke Building as well as Kenan’s student-oriented space in the 103 office suite. Come check it out Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through May 13^th.

Eat Your Ethics

Team Kenan — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:40:24 +0000

Join Team Kenan and Bon Appétit Management Company for a discussion about food, farmworkers’ rights, and corporate social responsibility in the food industry. We will explore the challenges of fair labor in agriculture, and stimulate conversation about the ethical dilemmas that occur at the intersection of commercial agriculture, labor issues, and corporate food suppliers.

Carolina Fojo, on Appétit’s East Coast Fellow, and Student Action with Farmworkers, will discuss pressing farmworkers’ rights issues, and provide a local perspective on labor issues in North Carolina, respectively.

Come to explore what ‘fair’ food means at Duke and beyond.

When: April 4^th at 4:30 p.m.
Where: 318 Allen Building

iThink: Ethics and I-Banking

Team Kenan — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:53:48 +0000

The recent and very public resignation of Greg Smith, executive director and head of Goldman Sachs’ United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, has once again brought critical attention to the American financial services industry. While his article, cultural critics, and the media often reinforce an image of greed and ruthlessness in this industry, banks continue to respond defensively and proactively to protect a reputation that some argue has been unfairly marred in recent years. How do we reconcile the industry’s reputation with its recent efforts to change? What should we want to change about this lucrative and prestigious field? Join us for a conversation with Emma Rasiel, director of the Duke Financial Education Partnership and a former Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, on the ethics of the financial services industry.

iThink meets in the Breedlove Room of Perkins Library Wednesday, January 22^nd from 6-7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

The iThink: An Ethics Cafe series consists of intimate and informal discussion events that focus on a new topic each session and provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to talk about ethics in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Contact Christian Ferney for more information.

Do Lunch with Cameron Wolfe

Team Kenan — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:50:05 +0000

How does one decide who gets vital medical resources, particularly in emergency situations?

Team Kenan welcomes Cameron Wolfe to Do Lunch for a discussion about making difficult choices in medicine on March 22nd. Dr. Wolfe is a faculty member within the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease at Duke University Medical Center. He has a lead role in the Duke Preparedness and Response Center, where various projects have included rationing of vaccine for influenza pandemics and surge capacity management for the health system. The Center also was the lead organization from Duke responding to the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Dr. Wolfe has worked extensively in both resource rich and poor settings, with a number of years spent practicing medicine in different countries in Africa and Asia prior to coming to Duke.

The event will be held in room 101 of the West Duke Building from noon to 1:30 pm.

Lunch will be provided for the first 25 to RSVP by March 20th at noon. Click here to RSVP.