Spring 2025 Events
Brownfields and Repair in the Lehigh Valley: A Panel Discussion
Tuesday, January 28, 7 p.m.
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall
Redevelopment of brownfields (former industrial sites) has led to significant and dynamic changes in the Lehigh Valley, from ArtsQuest in Bethlehem, to the Silk Mill in Easton, to the numerous projects in downtown Allentown. Who gets a say in the process of redevelopment? What does community involvement look like in both privately and publicly funded endeavors? What are the environmental and public health implications of redeveloping contaminated sites? Please join us for a very important conversation about our dynamic and changing urban landscape with a panel of experts representing the multiple stakeholders in redevelopment.
Zaira Simone-Thompson, Ph.D., Wesleyan University
"Holding Mirrors: Representations of Caribbean Redress"
Wednesday, February 26, 7 p.m.
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall
Since 2013, Caribbean countries have advocated for former colonial powers, such as Britain, to commit to a restorative justice program that would require various political and legal actions, such as political apologies, reparations, and the return of stolen property. In this lecture, Simone-Thompson explores both Afro and Indo-Caribbean articulations of recovery, wholeness, and justice as they relate to the afterlives of plantation slavery, indentureship, and underdevelopment in the Caribbean.
Lien-Hang Nguyen, Ph.D., Columbia University
“The Vietnam War and the Ethics of Repair”
Monday, March 24, 7 p.m.
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall
“Response and Repair: Higher Education and Social Change in an Age of Mass Incarceration”
A Conference Organized by the Muhlenberg College Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program
Friday and Saturday, April 4
Moyer Hall
Incarceration in the United States affects approximately 2.3 million individuals and their communities. Children of color and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are disproportionately system-impacted, while their white and wealthier counterparts are guided toward higher education opportunities. This disparity raises critical questions about the role of colleges and universities in addressing and disrupting the systemic inequalities associated with mass incarceration. What responsibilities do Muhlenberg College and other local institutions of higher education have in challenging and transforming mass incarceration in the Lehigh Valley? Does higher education have a responsibility to utilize its resources in repairing harm and creating new pathways for community cohesion? What role does educational response and repair play in creating a democratic, civically engaged, and healthy community for everyone in the Lehigh Valley? This conference hopes to provoke and inspire attendees to imagine a better future for all of us.
David Rosner, Ph.D., MPH, Columbia University
“Building the Worlds That Kill Us: Disease, Death, and Inequality in American History”
Tuesday, April 8, 7 p.m.
Event Space, Seegers Union
Presented by the public health program, co-sponsored by Center for Ethics
Rosner is the Ronald H. Lauterstein Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Professor of History and co-director of the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health at Columbia University. In this talk, he will discuss his book ”Building the Worlds That Kill Us,” which provides a new way of understanding the history of the United States through the lens of death and disease. Across American history, the question of whose lives are long and healthy and whose lives are short and sick has always been shaped by the social and economic order. From the dispossession of Indigenous people and the horrors of slavery to infectious diseases spreading in overcrowded tenements and the vast environmental contamination caused by industrialization, and through climate change and pandemics in the 21st century, those in power have left others behind. Ultimately, this history shows that unequal outcomes are a choice — and we can instead collectively make decisions that foster life and health.
Dat Nguyen, Ph.D.; NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies; Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
“Caring for the War Dead and the Environment: Challenges and Limits of Social Healing from the Vietnam-American War”
Wednesday, April 23, 5 p.m.
Zoom
Presented by the Muhlenberg College Department of History, co-sponsored by Center of Ethics
The year 2025 marks the 50th year since the end of the Vietnam-American war in 1975. Fifty years on, the war continues to leave indelible legacies on people, societies, and the environment across Vietnam, the United States, and many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Many local, national, and transnational efforts to repair, remediate, and commemorate the destruction and the legacies of the war have long been underway, aimed at fostering reconciliation and healing at various levels. While these efforts have resulted in tremendous progress in repairing relations and communities, they have their limits and, at times, continue perpetuating war-time political distinctions and sociopolitical inequalities. This talk focuses on two of these efforts, namely the endeavors of local Vietnamese to remember and commemorate the war dead and the more recent Vietnam-United States bilateral efforts to remediate Agent Orange hotspots.
Fall 2024 Events
Faculty Panel: The Ethics of Repair
Wednesday, September 4, 7 p.m.
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall
This opening event features a panel of Muhlenberg faculty presenting brief reflections on this year's Center for Ethics theme and inviting the campus community to join in a discussion of “The Ethics of Repair.” The panelists are Kathleen Bachynski (Public Health), Benjamin Carter (Anthropology), Leticia Robles-Moreno (Theatre) and Sarah Runcie (History).
Leah Chan Grinvald
On the Right to Repair
Monday, September 16, 7 p.m.
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall
The call for a “right to repair” has been gaining ground across the globe. In the United States, there have been six states where legislation enabling consumers to repair their own “stuff” has been passed. And in 2024, there are an additional 30 states that are considering some form of repair legislation. There has been a need for this legislation since repairing our “stuff” has gotten more and more difficult since the early 2000s. But why is it important that we, as a society, have a right to repair all of our products — from farm equipment to automobiles, medical equipment to coffee makers, and even military equipment? In this lecture, Grinvald, dean of the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV, will provide an overview of the various societal interests that we collectively have in a universal right to repair, including environmental, personal autonomy, property rights, health and security concerns.
Center for Appropriate Transportation
Bike Repair Workshop
Friday, September 20, 2-4 p.m.
Parents’ Plaza
The Center for Ethics is excited to welcome CAT (Coalition for Appropriate Transportation) to lead a bike repair demonstration as part of the year-long theme "The Ethics of Repair." We invite you to join us to learn how to extend the lifespan of your bicycle through regular maintenance requirements and simple repairs. Choosing repair over replacement can save you money AND reduce your contribution to the waste stream.
CAT's mission is "to strengthen our Lehigh Valley community and our environment through bicycling, pedestrian accessibility and public transportation. CAT works to improve mobility for everyone. Better bicycling, walking/ADA accessibility and public transit develop a stronger, smarter economy and a higher quality of life. Sustainable transportation reduces traffic congestion, counters climate change and offers a healthier community for everyone."
Film Screening and Conversation
Farming While Black
Wednesday, September 25, 7 p.m.
Recital Hall, Baker Center for the Arts
Farming While Black is a feature-length documentary film that examines the historical plight of Black farmers in the United States and the rising generation of Black farmers reclaiming their rightful ownership to land and reconnecting with their ancestral roots. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Master Gardener, SoulFire Farm Fellow and Executive Director of the Allentown Boys and Girls Club Katarah Jordan. This event’s cosponsors include enACT, BSA and Community Garden.
Garden Work Day with enACT
Friday, September 27, 3 p.m.
Community Garden (Chew Street near 22nd Street)
The campus community is invited to join members of enACT in working in Muhlenberg’s Community Garden.
Jonathan Metzl
Mental Wellness, Mass Shootings and the Politics of American Firearms
Wednesday, October 23, 7 p.m.
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall
Metzl is the Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Sociology and Psychiatry and the director of the Department of Medicine, Health and Society at Vanderbilt University. He has written extensively for The New York Times, The Washington Post, VICE, Politico and other major publications about the most urgent hot-button issues facing America and the world. In this talk, he breaks down four frequent assumptions that often arise in the aftermath of a mass shooting: that mental illness causes gun violence, that psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime, that shootings represent the deranged acts of mentally ill loners and that gun control “won’t prevent” another shooting. Metzl uses scientific evidence and engaging storytelling to paint a nuanced picture of the increasingly lethal realities of American life — and how we can move forward. This event is part of the Dr. Charles Schiffert Distinguished Lecture Series and is co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science Election Series.
Vance Blackfox
Indigenous Theologian, ELCA Director of Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations
Wednesday, November 20, 7 p.m.
Miller Forum, Moyer Hall
Mr. Blackfox will speak on Lutheran values and social responsibility with a focus on engagement with indigenous cultures. This speaker is part of the Red Door Roots speaker series.
Partnering Organizations: Center for Ethics, Office of Multicultural Life, Offices of the President and Provost
