Race, Authorship, and ‘American Dirt’: Who Owns Migration Narratives?
The backlash over American Dirt raises important questions about our ability to inhabit the space of the Other.
Resurrecting James Dean: The Ethics of CGI Casting
From Carrie Fisher in Star Wars to James Dean in Finding Jack, the use of CGI is expanding. What could be the harm in bringing back beloved icons to the screen?
The Killing Joke: The Ethics of ‘Joker’
Reception to 'Joker' has tended to extremes. How do time and place define Joker's message? What responsibility do the creators and publishers share in the public's interpretation?
Morality on the Side: Peter Handke and the Nobel Prize
Literary criticism often encourages us to separate the art from the artist, but the Nobel Committee's recognition of Peter Handke makes the issue bigger than what's on the page.
The Remarkable Odyssey of a Solid Gold Toilet
The recent theft of a seven-million dollar golden toilet named America is chock-full of symbolism.
Iris Murdoch and the Moral Dimensions of Literature
Is morality to be found in abstracted and universalizable concepts and theories, or in the subjective, situatedness of characters rooted in their earthly contexts? What can literature tell us about our moral universe?
Moral and Existential Lessons from “Chernobyl”
The miniseries takes up a number of philosophical themes (e.g., what it means to know, the nature of authority, the virtue of humility), but chief among these is our existential confrontation with the Absurd.
The Ethics of Scientific Advice: Lessons from “Chernobyl”
HBO's miniseries offers a new opportunity to revisit an age-old debate: Should we keep value judgments out of science? Can we?
Refusal to Repatriate: The Owning, Lending, and Stealing of Art
The ongoing debate over colonial repatriation requires that we confront our history of imperialism. On what grounds can one own another's cultural heritage?
On Julia le Duc’s Photograph and the Choice Not to View...
What are the duties of news organizations and photographers? What are the rights of viewers? And what obligation do we have as humans to bear witness to tragedy and suffering?