Leecture in Applied Ethics - Layla Lavan

Lecture in Applied Ethics

About the series

The Calgary Institute for the Humanities is pleased to announce a new resident fellowship and lecture series. The Fellowship’s principal objectives are to support research and community engagement on the topic of applied ethics, which broadly defined can include environmental ethics, medical ethics, Indigenous ethics, professional ethics, social justice, and moral standing, among others.

In the program’s inaugural year, the CIH partnered with a local salon series, Layla Lavan, to offer late night talks and discussions on applied ethics. After the arrival of COVID-19, we pivoted to an online webinar format that was met with great success.

In 2021-22 and every two years following, scholars from across the university have been encouraged to apply for a resident fellowship to pursue advanced research in any area of applied ethics. In alternating years, an internationally prominent ethicist is invited to Calgary to give a public lecture at the Calgary Central Library. For our first international lecture, Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah spoke on cosmopolitanism and ethics; in 2023 Kate Manne delivered a lecture on fatphobia; and in 2025, Dr. Françoise Baylis will speak on the ethics of gene editing. Our first resident fellow, Dr. Shelley Alexander gave a lecture in 2022 on the ethics of human/animal relations; and in 2024, Applied Ethics Fellow Dr. Agnes Tam spoke on narratives of national belonging. 

The field of applied ethics is especially appropriate for the CIH, given its long history of promoting both the value of the humanities and the importance of civic dialogue. Ethics are at the heart of the humanities, and considerations of ethics are one of the key contributions the humanities can make to a thriving public sphere.

There's more to learn and do! Explore more events and community

Layla Lavan – Ethics and Morality Salon – In Times of Pandemic

As the pandemic swept across the world, changing life in ways that mirror dystopian novels, people were obliged to adapt to a new way of living that unravelled how we understand and engage in human interaction. It became urgent to acknowledge and discuss the moral implications that arose as COVID-19 unleashed a Pandora’s box of ethical dilemmas.

Even more than inspiration and comfort, we needed a moral compass to help us navigate these events. In a series of talks, award-winning journalist Christina Frangou spoke with bioethicists, neuro ethicists and moral philosophers in an attempt to find moral guidelines to navigate these extraordinary times.

Layla Lavan – Ethics and Morality Salon Series – In Times of Pandemic

Lecture theatre during inaugural LGBTQ2S+ lecture series

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