Dr. Anne Hudson Jones gave a plenary presentation titled “The Role of Literature in Ethics Education: Inspiring Virtue, Moral Development, and Social Justice,” at the 9th Annual Conference of the International Association for Education in Ethics, hosted virtually by UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, on Friday, July 16, 2021.
Using examples of literary works often included in clinical education, this presentation examined ways in which the specialized aesthetic forms of literary genres such as poetry, plays, novels, and short stories help develop self-knowledge, inspire a desire for virtue, heighten awareness of ethical issues in personal and professional moral development, and spark movements toward social and environmental justice. From ancient Greek tragedies to contemporary speculative fiction, the transformative power of literature comes largely from the affective engagement it fosters in solitary readers, classes or discussion groups, or theater audiences, live or virtual.
The presentation was followed by a Narrative Ethics Discussion and Q&A with Dr. Jones and Dr. Colleen Gallagher, Executive Director-Clinical Ethics Professor, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Research Scholar UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights.