Call for Work The Icon Industry: The Visual Economy of Human Rights Deadline for Submissions:  October 16, 2013 Opening: November 4, 2013 The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University is seeking works of art—in all visual mediums—for a fall exhibit: The Icon Industry: The Visual Economy of Human Rights. The call for work is open to all graduate and undergraduate students. The term “visual economy” in art is commonly defined as a minimalist approach. But, what happens when this search for simplicity becomes a standard for representation of human rights? Often one iconic image comes to define events, groups or issues, boiling down the complexity into a singular representation that we grab onto as the “right” image. For example, how has the 1984 National Geographic cover image photographed by More…

This fall, KIE’s Ethics Certificate Program will be the first to include a new pathway that combines the curricular with the co-curricular. In addition to course work that includes a Gateway introductory course, two half-credit Discussions in Ethics seminars (in which students meet with faculty and visiting non-academics to discuss ethics outside the classroom), and a final Capstone course, students can craft a comprehensive track unique to their fields of study that includes two experiential components. One of these components must be a research project, and the other must be a community engagement experience. For the independent research project, the student and faculty advisor will choose a topic related to one of KIE’s core program areas: Human Rights, Global Migration, Rethinking Regulation, Moral Attitudes and Decision-Making, or Religions and Public Life. More…

As the academic year has come to a close, undergraduates in Kenan programs are trading classrooms for exciting new opportunities around the globe. The students in KIE’s DukeEngage: Dublin program will be learning about the immigrant experience in Ireland’s capital city through engagement with local communities and organizations. The two students in this year’s Kenan Summer Fellows program will be traveling to Greenland and Korea to delve into projects exploring ethical dimensions of globalization and adoption. In a new endeavor, Kenan is continuing its relationship with the World Food Programme in Nepal through a summer intern who will aid the WFP in evaluating the effectiveness of its educational and assistance programs. All of these students will be writing back to KIE throughout the summer with reflections on their experiences. Check More…

The Institute will begin offering a new fellowship for graduate students entering the second year of study with the MFAEDA program. Beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year, the fellow will engage throughout the year with KIE faculty, fellows, students and staff to strengthen programming and explore the way in which the visual arts creates an ethical dialogue. The fellowship will include curating an exhibit and opening event for the fall, engaging directly with undergraduate students, and acting as a jury member for Team Kenan’s annual What is Good Art? competition in the spring. The fellowship will allow freedom to pursue the student’s interests and deepen his/her own work in addition to broadening KIE’s relationship with the visual arts.  The chosen fellow will receive a $5,000 yearly stipend and access to More…

Team Kenan senior Emily McGinty is passionate about issues of food resources. A recent Duke Today article discusses her involvement in a project to create an online information hub for food researchers across multiple universities. Emily was also one of the project leaders for the TK Food Challenge, an experiential learning event that forced undergraduate participants to realize the challenges to proper nutrition for those with fewer socio-economic resources.