2018-2019: The Ethics of Identity

What is, and is not, a part of our "identity"? Can we choose our identities, or are our identities given to, or imposed upon, us? How do our identities constrain our freedom, and how do they enhance it? What role (if any) should our racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, biological, national, religious, cultural, and/or professional identities play in our individual and collective decision-making? Can our identities generate ethical obligations for us? What should we do when our identities come into conflict? Should the government play a role in fostering or supporting the development of (particular) identities? The aim of this year's series is to explore these and related questions about "the ethics of identity."

Below is a list of upcoming theme-related events and activities. To receive information about these and other Mudd Center events, please join our mailing list.

Speakers and Events

Kwame Anthony Appiah Professor of Philosophy and Law at NYU

Talk Title: "The Ethics of Identity: The Injuries of Class"
Thursday, September 27, 5:00 p.m.
Stackhouse Theater

Anita Foeman Professor of Communications Studies at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Talk Title: "DNA and Identity: Changing the Conversation About Who We Are"
Thursday, October 18, 5:00 p.m.
Stackhouse Theater

Paula Vogel Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright

Talk Title: "The Art of Tolerance"
Tuesday, October 30, 5:00 p.m.
Stackhouse Theater

Rebecca Jordan-Young Tow Associate Professor for Distinguished Scholars and Chair of the Deparment of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College

Talk Title: "Thinking Bioculturally About Identity and Ethics"
Thursday, November 29, 5:00 p.m.
Hillel Multipurpose Room

Joy Harjo Award-winning poet and musician

Talk Title: "Exile in Memory"
Monday, February 11, 5:00 p.m.
Stackhouse Theater

David Luban Professor of Law and Philosophy at Georgetown University

Talk Title: "The Ethics of Professional Identities in Law and War"
Thursday, February 28, 5:00 p.m.
Stackhouse Theater

Jonathan Lear John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor at the Committee on Social Thought and in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago

Talk Title: "What Would It Be to Mourn Gettysburg?"
Thursday, March 14, 5:00 p.m.
Stackhouse Theater

Dr. Ralph Caldroney Medical Director, Rockbridge Area Hospice

Talk Title: "Professional Identity in Healthcare"
Friday, April 26, 12:15 - 1:15 p.m.
Mattingly House Living Room