On September 10, Hiram College hosted the 25th annual Ethics Teach-In. The Teach-In is a tradition that prioritizes engaging with difficult topics in a mindful way. First started after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Teach-In stands to show students how to respond to challenging and ever-changing situations we face in the world around us. This year’s theme was centered around language and how we use it to engage with these challenges.
Organizer Colin Anderson, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy and George and Arlene Foote Chair of Ethics and Values, said, “Colleges like ours have unique opportunities and responsibilities to model and promote conversation across differences about our fraught world, involvement in civic and civil discourse, and further, to contribute what we study in the classroom in each concentration and area of expertise to bear on the urgent challenges of our times.”
Sessions explored topics including strategic language in political conversations, truth and persuasion in marketing, and the connection between language and the brain. First-year student Quinn Curley attended Strategic Language: How to Have a Conversation about Politics,” hosted by James Thompson, Ph.D., professor of political science and director of the James A. Garfield Center for Public Leadership. Reflecting on the experience, Curley shared:
“I really enjoyed the group I attended, and I found that I learned more about how we communicate our feelings and ideas of politics in an hour than I’ve learned in quite a long time. If I had to describe our group in one word, it would simply be respectful. We discussed the ideas of immigration, the renaming of culturally significant areas, and current presidential policies. But no matter the area of discussion, everything remained respectful, and it seemed like we all learned something from each other. What stood out to me the most, though, was how mature the conversation was. Political discussions today can become very argumentative, especially when people have strong opinions about certain topics. However, that simply wasn’t the case in our group. Even when people disagreed with each other, they were willing to listen and understand the other person’s point of view instead of immediately trying to prove them wrong. I found everything about our group extremely progressive in that aspect, especially when our current political climate constantly delves into losing our respect for one another as soon as someone approaches an opposing idea to our own. Overall, this Teach-In showed me that political conversations don’t have to be arguments, and when much of our current politics tends to be only one option or the other, it felt very refreshing and educational to find common ground with people who have different political opinions and perspectives from me.”
Willard Greenwood, Ph.D., John S. Kenyon professor of English, gave his perspective on the event. Alongside Keira Lea McDonald, visiting associate professor of theatre, Greenwood led a session on the use of words as weapons in William Shakespeare’s works. “Keira chose to focus on how Shakespeare uses language to lead to combat and actual fighting,” said Greenwood. “Language itself is a way to solve problems or even to make them worse.”
Students engaged with the session by acting out scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, bringing the discussion to life through hands-on participation. Greenwood also emphasized the role of the humanities in helping students approach complex ethical questions.
“The humanities help us learn how to reason ethically, and the humanities teach us how to be human,” Greenwood said. “Literary critic Harold Bloom said Shakespeare literally taught us how to think, and the Renaissance used reason so humans could understand their place in the world.”
That spirit of thoughtful inquiry is at the heart of the Ethics Teach-In, which encourages students to engage with challenging ideas, consider different perspectives, and think critically about the world around them.
By Ava Scott ’28
