Virtual Events Worth Revisiting

June 2021

The past year was marked by an abundance of virtual events that brought together panels and speakers who were physically distant and might not otherwise have been able to be together. Many of these talks were recorded and are available for summer viewing. Here is a roundup of some of our favorites from the past several months:

Character, Diversity, and the Professions – The Wake Forest Program for Leadership and Character hosted a virtual conference on Character and the Professions in March. There were many excellent sessions, but this presentation by Wharton Professor Stephanie Creary on the connection between virtue and diversity initiatives was a standout and worth a watch.
Virtues in the Professions: A panel discussion – The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues hosted a webinar series that included a panel on medicine, engineering and the military. This webinar delves into the particularities of virtue in each profession while promoting dialogue and learning across professions. Panelists included Dr. Sabena Jameel, Professor David Bogle, and Major Dr. Scott Parsons.
Black Women in a White Coat – The book Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy examines the complex ways that both Black doctors and patients navigate the difficult terrain of race and medicine. Using the book’s themes as a starting place, the Duke Alumni Association hosted a panel of Black women doctors to discuss their perspectives and advice on issues of race and medicine.
Give Virtue a Chance: What Nasty Renaissance Politics Can Tell Us About Nasty Modern Politics – The James Madison Program at Princeton University hosted Harvard History Professor James Hankins to discuss his most recent book,Virtue Politics: Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy, and the implications for civic education and politics.
Human Flourishing: Caring and Character in the Medical Profession – The Kern National Network presented a series of webinars on human flourishing and medicine this spring. In the first discussion of the series, Drs. Andrea Leep (Mayo), Bonnie Miller (Vanderbilt), and John Luk (Dell Medical School) use storytelling to consider the interrelated concepts of caring and character within medicine.