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PHIL 205 poster
 
Click here to see the AI and Democracy Roundtable Discussion.

 

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Past Events

Forum in Ethics, Law, and Society (PHIL 205) JOIN US MONDAYS

  • Mondays, 12:00-12:55 pm, in STEVENSON 1400
  • Lecture is free and open to the public. General parking is $5 in lots J, E and F with parking permit machines available. Click here to view SSU map.
  • Scan QR code or click on this link to join live each Monday at noon.
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CELS Poster

 

September 11     "Ethical Issue in Space Colonization: AI, Robots, and Existential Risk"

Keith Abney, California Polytechnic State University, Philosophy

 

September 18     "The Privileged Access of the Underprivileged"

Teed Rockwell, Sonoma State University, Philosophy-Emeritus

 

September 25     "Rethinking 'Democratizing AI'"

Ting-An Lin, Stanford, Interdisciplinary Ethics Postdoctoral Fellow, McCoy Family Center of Ethics in Society (EIS) and The Institute for Human Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI)

Watch to see Ting-An Lin's lecture

 

October 9     "Responsible Use of Generative AI"

John P. Sullins, Sonoma State University, Philosophy

Watch Dr. John Sullins' lecture

 

October 16   "On Bullshit Engines: The Socioethical and Epistemic Status of GPTs and other 'AI'"

Damien Patrick Williams, University of North Carolina Charlotte, Philosophy and Data Science

Watch Dr. Damien Patrick Williams' lecture

 

October 30     "Developing Flexibility Awareness"

Anthony Wright, Sonoma State University, Philosophy

Watch Anthony Wright's lecture

 

November 6     "Small Minds Without Spines: Challenging the Moral Discourse Around Insect Consumption"

Rebekah Sinclair, Oregon State University, Philosophy

 

November 13     "An Ethics of Gender Affirmation"

Megan Burke, Sonoma State University, Philosophy

Watch Megan Burke's lecture

 

November 27     Warren Court Prizewinner Presentations

 

 

September 12     "Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition"  
Betty Ann Hagenau (BAATC)


September 26     "The Arguments Used to Overturn Roe and their Consequences" 
Cynthia Boaz (Sonoma State University)

Watch Dr. Boaz's lecture


October 10      "Ethics of AI" 
Will Fleisher (Georgetown)

Watch Will Fleisher's lecture


October 17      "The Courage to Transform Knowledge into Wisdom"  
Anthony Wright (Sonoma State University)

Watch Anthony Wright's lecture


October 24      "Artificial Wombs" 
Susan Kennedy (Santa Clara University)

Watch Susan Kennedy's lecture


October 31      "The Political Realities of Indigenous Communities" 
Silvia Soto (Sonoma State University)

Watch Silvia Soto's lecture


November 7      "Citational Rebellion and Applied Ethics" 
Johnathan Flowers (CSU, Northridge)


November 14      "Military and Business Strategy in an Age of AI-aided Decisions"  
Matthew Kwon Johnson (Department of Defense)


November 28      "Warren Court Prize Presentations"  
Prize winners

August 30     “Sylvia Rivera and the Fight Against the Carceral Machine”

Dr. Andrea Pitts, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Philosophy

Watch Dr. Pitts' lecture

 

September 13    “How White People Listen”

Dr. Storm Heter, East Stroudsburg University, Philosophy

 

September 20    “Criminal Punishment and Gender-Based Violence: The Limits of Incarceration”

Dr. Amelia Wirts, University of Washington, Philosophy

Watch Dr. Wirts' lecture

 

September 27    “Institutional Timeliness, COVID-19, and Trans Critique”

Dr. Amy Marvin, Gettysburg College, Philosophy

Watch Dr. Marvin's lecture

 

October 4        “Black Films Matter”

Professor Law Ware, Oklahoma State University, Philosophy  

Watch Professor Ware's lecture

 

October 18      “Healing at the Intersections: Combating Intersectional Invisibility in Therapy”

RaiNesha L. Miller, PhD., Johns Hopkins University Counseling Center,

Coordinator of Services for Black Students

Watch Dr. Miller's lecture

 

October  25      “Sensorimotor Debility in Digital Cultures”

Professor Simon Penny, University of California-Irvine, Art

Watch Professor Penny's lecture

 

November 1       “Yellow Bodies in White Spaces”

Dr. Boram Jeong, University of Colorado-Denver, Philosophy

Watch Dr. Jeong's lecture

 

November 8       “Who am I? A Discussion About Transitions, Moral Injury, and Veteran Support”

David Reese, University of Maryland, Coordinator of Veteran Student Life

Watch David Reese's Lecture

                           

November 15     “Mindfulness and Kindness: Resonating with Self and Other”

Dr. Andy Wallace, Sonoma State University, Philosophy

Watch Dr. Wallace's lecture

Raj Patel
March 2, 2018, 1:00pm, Cooperage 3

Co-Sponsor with SSU Hutchins School of Liberal Studies

 

Wendell Wallach, Yale University Center for Bioethics
February 8, 12:05-12:55 Stevenson 1002

Co-sponsored with Computer Science

Nov. 14
The Baumgardt Memorial Lecture II 
FINDING GOODNESS IN DEATH
Joshua Glasgow, Sonoma State University, Philosophy
 

Nov. 7
The Baumgardt Memorial Lecture I
GRATITUDE FOR BAD FACTS
Joshua Glasgow, Sonoma State University, Philosophy
 

Oct. 13
THE FUTURE OF CYBERSECURITY
Betsy Cooper, UC Berkeley, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
 

Oct. 24
TRUST, ANGER, RESENTMENT: ON BLAME AND ITS ASSESSMENT
R. Jay Wallace, UC Berkeley, Philosophy
Click here for video

 

Sept. 26
FREE SPEECH AND FAKE NEWS IN THE TRUMP ERA
Paul Gullixson, The Press Democrat
Karl Olson, Cannata, O'Toole, Fickes and Almazan, LLP
Click here for video

 

Sept. 19
CAN RACIAL INEQUALITY BE FIXED BY SEEING RACE AS FLUID?
Aliya Saperstein, Stanford, Sociology
Click here for video

 

Sept. 12
VALUES AND FEAR IN THE AGE OF TRUMP IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
Bill Hing, University of San Francisco, Law
Click here for video

 

Aug. 29
OUR CHANGING OCEANS
Jennifer Stock, NOAA, Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary
Click here for video

 

May 2
LAW, ORDER, AND ALGORITHMS: CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN THE AGE OF BIG DATA
Sharad Goel, Stanford University, Engineering
Click here for video

 

April 25
THE RISE OF THE GOOD FOOD MOVEMENT
Naomi Starkman, Civil Eats
Click here for video

 

April 18
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: THE FUTURE OF NON-PROFIT WORK--A PANEL OF EXPERTS
Karin Demarest, Vice President for Programs, Community Foundation Sonoma County
Paul Fordham, Deputy Executive DIrector, Homeward Bound of Marin
Matt Martin, CEO, Social Advocates for Youth
Click here for video

 

 

April 20, 11:15-12, Green Music Center (part of the Investiture conference honoring President Sakaki)
A CELS Co-Sponsored Event

Democracy Roundtable: How do we understand relationships between citizenship, immigration, and xenophobia?
 

April 11
ELECTIONEERING VS. GOVERNING: THE CHALLENGES OF A TRUMP PRESIDENCY AFTER THE FIRST 100 DAYS
David McCuan, SSU, Political Science
Click here for video

 

April 11, 7:30PM, Student Center Ballroom A
A CELS Co-Sponsored Event, with the Schulz Endowment, University Library, and the School of Social Sciences

RUNNING A SUB-20 SECOND 200 AND SPEAKING THROUGH SILENCE
Tommie Smith
 

April 4
EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION IN SONOMA COUNTY
Jen Lewis, Special Projects Director, Sonoma County Department of Health Services
Click here for video

 

March 21
HOW DO BLIND PEOPLE UNDERSTAND RACE, AND WHAT CAN THEY TELL US ABOUT COLORBLINDNESS?
Osagie Obasogie, UC Berkeley School of Public Health
 

March 7
THE NEXT PHASE IN IMMIGRATION LAW AND POLICY
Bernice Espinoza, Sonoma County Public Defender
Click here for video

 

February 28
KILLER ROBOTS AND DEMOCRATIC WARS
Christopher Kutz, UC Berkeley Law
Click here for video

 

Feb. 21
INEQUALITY IN FILM: ON SCREEN AND BEHIND THE CAMERA
Stacy Smith, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Click here for video

 

Feb. 14
THE ROBOTIC MIRROR: FINDING HUMANITY IN MACHINE VALUES
Shannon Vallor, Santa Clara University, Philosophy
Click here for video

Oct. 12


THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS: INSIGHTS AND PRACTICES
Dacher Kelter, UC Berkeley Psychology and Co-Director of the Greater Good Science Center

Click here for video

April 18
SUPPORTING EMBODIED LEARNING AT THE SONOMA COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION'S LEGO ROBOTICS CHALLENGE
Rick Phelan, Coordinator of Staff Development for Curriculum and technology at the Sonoma County Office of Education, Faculty member of SSU School of Education and Extended Education
 

March 24
COMPASSION
Erika Rosenberg, Stanford University
 

Nov. 17
A PANEL OF EXPERTS: THE FUTURE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION
Susan Hollander, K&L Gates
Judge Brad Seligman, Superior Court of Alameda County
Cometria Cooper, Assistant Director of Career Development, University of San Francisco School of Law
This event was supported in part by St. Joseph Health--Sonoma County and SSU Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Nov. 10
WHO OWNS YOUR STUFF? COPYRIGHT, EULAs, AND THE FUTURE OF USER CONTROL
Corynne McSherry, Electronic Frontier Foundation
This event was supported in part by St. Joseph Health--Sonoma County and SSU Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video


Nov. 3

FOOD, OUR BIOSPHERE, AND YOU
Jeff Baldwin, SSU, Geography and Global Studies
This event was supported in part by St. Joseph Health--Sonoma County and SSU Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Oct. 27
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A GUILTY MIND
Tania Lombrozo, U.C. Berkeley, Psychology
This event was supported in part by St. Joseph Health--Sonoma County and SSU Instructionally Related Activities

 

Oct. 20
CALIFORNIA'S WATER CHALLENGES: LESSONS FROM THE CURRENT DROUGHT
Caitrin Chappelle, Public Policy Institute of California
This event was supported in part by St. Joseph Health--Sonoma County and SSU Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Oct. 6
RACIAL BIAS IN POLICING: PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Jack Glaser, U.C. Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy
This event was supported in part by St. Joseph Health--Sonoma County and SSU Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Sept. 22
FINDING A PATH TO BENEFICIAL A.I.
John Sullins, SSU, Philosophy
This event was supported in part by St. Joseph Health--Sonoma County and SSU Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Sept. 15
THE PROBLEMS WITH PRIVATIZATION
Debra Satz, Stanford University, Philosophy
This event was supported in part by St. Joseph Health--Sonoma County and SSU Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Green Music Center, Weill Hall, Wednesday, September 9. 6:30pm
GLOBAL POVERTY AND WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE DOING ABOUT IT
The Big Ethics and Law Lecture
Peter Singer, A.C. Princeton University and the University of Melbourne
Click here for video


Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2-4pm, Student Center Ballroom B
READING RACE: FROM FERGUSON, MISSOURI TO MORRISON'S A MERCY AND BACK AGAIN
Paula Moya, Stanford University
Co-sponsored with the SSU Philosophy Club, with the support of Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Monday, Feb. 23, 10:30am-noon, Student Center Ballroom B
PROSTITUTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Melissa Farley, Prostitution Education and Research
Co-sponsored with the Sonoma Freedom Project, with the support of Instructionally Related Activities

 

Tuesday, April 14, 7:30pm, Schroeder Hall (Green Music Center)
WHAT IS VEILING?
Dr. Sahar Amer, University of Sydney
Co-sponsored with the School of Arts & Humanities, Dept. of Modern Languages

 

Wednesday, April 16, 2-3:30, Student Center Ballroom B
MULTIRACIAL BELONGING AND BETRAYAL
Ron Sundstrom, Ph.D., University of San Francisco
Co-hosted by CELS and the SSU Philosophy Club

 

Friday, April 11, 9-noon, Weill Hall
IMAGINE YOURSELF: A DIALOGUE AND SYMPOSIUM WITH THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF CALIFORNIA
Chief Justice of California, Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye
with Angelica Quirarte, Jonathan Gomez, and Doug Bosco
Presented by 10,000 Degrees Sonoma County and CELS

 

September 2
RISKS AND LIABILITIES IN CYBERSPACE
Eric Sinrod, Duane Morris LLP
This event was supported in part by Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

September 9
A REVERENTIAL REYDRATION REVOLUTION
Brock Dolman, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
This event was supported in part by Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Sept. 16
COMPASSION AND HAPPINESS
Andy Wallace, SSU Philosophy
Click here for video

 

Sept. 23
DOG WHISTLE POLITICS: HOW CODED RACIAL APPEALS HAVE REINVENTED RACISM AND WRECKED THE MIDDLE CLASS
Ian Haney- López, Boalt Hall (UC Berkeley Law) and Demos
This event was supported in part by Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Sept. 30
NSA SPYING, THE CONSTITUTION, AND YOU
Cindy Cohn, Electronic Frontier Foundation
This event was supported in part by Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Oct. 14
PHILOSOPHY OF WATER USE TECHNOLOGY
Irene Klaver, University of North Texas
This event was supported in part by Instructionally Related Activities

Click here for video

 

Oct. 28
WHALE AWARE: HOW INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, AND NGOs ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO REDUCE STRIKES TO WHALES BY LARGE BOATS
Michael Carver and Jennifer Stock, Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary (NOAA)
Click here for video

 

Nov. 18
THE RIGHT TO SPEAK OUR MINDS AND OUR LANGUAGES: TOWARD AN ETHICS OF MULTILINGUALISM IN SCHOOL AND SOCIETY
Robert Train, SSU Modern Languages
Click here for video

 

Dec. 2
Warren Court Prize Presentations
Click here for video

 

Tuesday, November 19, Noon-1pm, Carson Hall 56
THE WORLD OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A Q&A WITH DR. MARY BURKE
Mary Burke, Executive Director, The Project to End Human Trafficking and Director, Doctoral Program in Counseling Psychology, Carlow University


Wednesday, October 30, 2-3:30, Cooperage 2
STAKEHOLDING AND SAFETY NETS: A CRITIQUE OF LIBERTARIANISM
Teed Rockwell, SSU Philosophy Department
Click here for the paper

Click here for the slides

 

Wednesday, September 25, 12-1pm, Darwin 103
PROBLEMS WITH "BORN THAT WAY": SEXUAL ORIENTATION, SCIENCE, AND THE LAW
Ed Stein, Vice Dean, Professor of Law, and Director of the Gertrud Mainzer Program in Family Law, Policy, and Bioethics at Cardozo Law


Thursday, April 11, Location: Schulz 3001, 1:30-3:00
NEGLIGENCE AND RESPONSIBILITY
Manuel Vargas, University of San Francisco, Philosophy and Law School


Friday, April 5
Frank Wu, Chancellor and Dean, Hastings School of Law
2-3 PM: Q & A about law school with Frank Wu, the Dean and Chancellor of Hastings. Co-sponsored by CELS and the Pre-Law Society. Carson 56

Dean Wu also led a discussion of the film, Who Killed Vincent Chin?, at 7 PM.

 

Wednesday, March 27
Title IX events
Gender Equity Concerns Workshop for Students and Community Members, 4:30-6 pm in the Cooperage.

Donna Lopiano “Gender Equity and Title 9: It Isn’t Just About Sports," 7:30 pm The Cooperage

  • Dr. Lopiano has served for 18 years as the University of Texas at Austin Director of Women’s Athletics and is a past-president of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. During her tenure at Texas, she constructed what many believed to be the premiere women’s athletics program in the country; twice earning the top program in the nation award. Recognized as one of the foremost national experts on gender equity in sport, Dr. Lopiano has testified about Title IX and gender equity before three Congressional committees and served as a consultant to the U.S. Office for Civil Rights Department of Health, Education and Welfare Title IX Task Force. The Sporting News has repeatedly listed her as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Sports.”
     

Gender Equity Issues Workshop for Faculty, Staff, Coaches and Administrators, 10-11:30 am in Schulz 3001

 

Wednesday, February 6, 4 PM
The Center for Ethics, Law, and Society Inaugural Lecture
Judge Brad Seligman: Big Law, Small Law: Old and New Civil Rights in the 21st Century
Come join us hear Judge Seligman, SSU alum and accomplished class action civil rights lawyer, speak about civil rights! Judge Seligman's talk will help us officially open the Center. Wine and cheese reception to follow.

Location: Ives 101 (Warren Auditorium)

Center for Ethics, Law, and Society at Sonoma State University 
707.664.3280 • Rachel Carson Hall 56 • 1801 East Cotati Ave • Rohnert Park, CA 94928 
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