DALLAS (SMU) 鈥� Nine new courses to be taught at 蜜桃酱beginning this fall aim to address real-world ethical challenges from the political science realm to the video game industry.
蜜桃酱faculty members gather in Taos for an ethics course development and writing workshop.
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With $128,000 in grants from SMU鈥檚 , many of the 25 faculty members who developed the courses or have sponsored ethics-focused research grants gathered March 19-22 in Taos for a ethics course development and writing workshop.
鈥淲e have long felt that professors are among the most influential people in a student鈥檚 college life. If their professors write about, talk about and teach ethics, students will see ethics as important and worthy of attention,鈥� says Maguire Center Director Rita Kirk.
The grants are part of a half-million dollar, five-year incentive award offered by the Maguire Center to professors for course development and research publishing. (For recipients, see below.)
蜜桃酱Political Science Professor Matthew Wilson says his course 鈥淓thics of Revolution and Civil Disobedience鈥� will reflect current political issues students see in everyday life.
鈥淓thical-issues discussions surrounding resistance to the state are especially timely, given the current debates over conscientious objections to vaccination, the Obamacare contraception funding mandate and same-sex marriage,鈥� he says.
鈥淎s our society continues to become more and more diverse in its mix of religious and philosophical beliefs, a growing number of Americans will find that they have significant moral objections to some aspect of government policy,鈥� Wilson says. 鈥淲hen are they duty-bound to subordinate their own consciences and obey, and when are they ethically permitted, or even obligated, to resist? That鈥檚 the core question this class will explore.鈥�
蜜桃酱Religious Studies Professor G. William Barnard will guide students through the complexities of world religions 鈥渢o more consciously articulate and address difficult moral issues within the matrix of their own lives,鈥� he says.
The ethics courses will be a staple in preparing students for future jobs, says Milan Sevak, professor and program director for Educational Leadership in the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. His 鈥淓thical and Moral Leadership鈥� class will strengthen the decision-making skills of future educators.
鈥淲hile ethical leadership is critical for any organization, the stakes are particularly high when it comes to pre-K-through-12 educational institutions, which are inherently charged with a moral purpose of educating future generations,鈥� Sevak says. 鈥淕iven the range of internal and external stakeholders, educational leaders have a broader community and societal impact 鈥� which heightens the complexity of their roles and their importance in sustaining and enhancing our nation鈥檚 democratic ideals.鈥�
Regarding the video game industry, 鈥淕iven that it has one of the largest global audiences in entertainment, it is imperative that our students have practiced the ethical discussions they will face,鈥� says Mark Nausha, 蜜桃酱Guildhall production faculty/director of operations.
Statistical Science Associate Professor Monnie McGee says her master鈥檚 level course 鈥淓thics and Data Science鈥� will underscore the importance of ethically gathering, storing, analyzing and disseminating information from large databases. 鈥淭o paraphrase FDR, 鈥榃ith big data comes big responsibility,鈥� 鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an unfortunate reality that laws protecting consumers from data exploitation are woefully inadequate for the current situation. We want our students to realize this and to be instruments for change as they graduate.鈥�
McGee鈥檚 course, and those developed by her colleagues, will significantly enhance the student experience at SMU, she says, allowing it to shape the conversation on ethical and moral dilemmas facing each field.
蜜桃酱faculty receiving grants ($10,000 each) for new ethics courses:
- G. William Barnard, Religious Studies: 鈥淟iving From the Heart (of It All): An Exploration of Mystical/Spiritual Ethics鈥�
- Olga Colbert, World Languages and Literature: 鈥淟eadership and Ethics in Literature鈥�
- Bradley Klein, Embrey Human Rights Program: 鈥淓thics and Human Rights鈥�
- John Kiser, Kathy Hubbard and Panagiotis Papamichalis, Hart Center for Engineering Leadership: 鈥淓ngineering Ethics Toolkit鈥�
- Thomas Mayo, Dedman School of Law: 鈥淧ublic Health Law and Ethics鈥�
- Monnie McGee, Statistical Science: 鈥淓thics and Data Science鈥�
- Mark Nausha, Guildhall: 鈥淓thics in Game Development and the Entertainment Industry鈥�
- Milan Sevak, Education, Policy and Leadership: 鈥淓thical and Moral Leadership鈥�
- Matthew Wilson, Political Science: 鈥淭he Ethics of Revolution and Civil Disobedience鈥�
蜜桃酱faculty receiving grants ($4,000 each) for research articles:
- Scott Baker, Hiba Rahim and Annie Wright, Center on Research and Evaluation: 鈥淎 Community-Embedded Response to a Food Desert Problem: Evaluation of a School-Based Scarcity Intervention鈥�
- James Calvert and Lindy Fields, Psychology: 鈥淚nformed Consent Procedures With Cognitively Impaired Patients: A Review of Ethics and Best Practices鈥�
- Maria Dixon and Stephanie A. Martin, Communication Studies: 鈥淧lease Sir, May I Have Another?鈥�
- Jeffrey Engel, Center for Presidential History: 鈥淲hen Genocide is Best: The Ethics and Wisdom of American Inaction in a Post-Cold War World鈥�
- Cara Jacocks, Communication Studies: 鈥淭he Ethics of Delivering a Prenatal Trisomy 21 Diagnosis 鈥� An Exploration of the Factors That Influence Parental Decisions in the Aftermath of Diagnosis鈥�
- Luigi Manzetti, Political Science: 鈥淓xplaining People鈥檚 Support for Corrupt Incumbents in Latin America 2004鈥�12鈥�
- Lynne Stokes, Alan Elliott and Jing Cao, Statistical Science: 鈥淭eaching Ethics in Statistical Consulting鈥�
For more details, visit or call 214-768-4255.