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by Lindsey Grubbs Early in April, Emory University hosted the third iteration of Critical Juncture . This annual(ish) graduate-student-led conference focuses on intersectionality , examining interconnecting dynamics of systems of oppression including racism, sexism, ableism, and classism. This year’s conference, while maintaining a broader focus on the complexities of identity and oppression, took as its theme “representations of the body”: which bodies are, and perhaps more importantly which are not, represented in science, politics, the arts, and the academy, and what forms do these representations take? From its beginning, the conference has links to neuroethics at Emory. One of the co-founders of the conference, Jennifer Sarrett , was a past Neuroethics Scholars Program Fellow. This year, I—one-time managing editor of this blog and current intrepid neuroethics blogger—served as one of the co-organizers. The focus at this year’s conference was on increasing opportunities for in...

“Bioart” refers to the manipulation of living cells, tissues, or organisms (or their derivatives) for artistic purposes. While artists and biologists have collaborated for centuries to illustrate biological phenomena (you can see some fantastic modern examples of this tradition  here ), “Bioart” refers to the practice started in the early 1990’s of artists training in and performing techniques from the biological sciences, such as cell culture, genetic engineering , and surgery .  Artists have used these technologies to create novel living entities (such as a leather jacket grown in vitro ) or modify existing living entities (such as Stelarc’s third ear ).  These tools provided new options for aesthetic statements (the ability to radically sculpt living tissue to suit particular tastes), ethical statements (if we are growing a small, edible steak in a vat , should we continue to kill cattle for food?) as well as a novel flavor of irony (that “victimless” PETA-endorsed cul...

It is with great pleasure that the Emory Neuroethics Program announces its newest neuroethics scholar : Riley Zeller-Townson! The Neuroethics Program invited graduate students to create and to join collaborative, interdepartmental faculty teams at Emory and in the Atlanta community to pursue Neuroethics scholarship.  Graduate students were free to propose projects of interest to them. Proposals included innovative ideas in the arena of teaching, empirical research, new media, and beyond. By the completion of their one year appointments, each scholar is expected to co-author a paper and present his or her work.  The selection process was quite competitive. The abstract of Riley’s proposed project and a short bio can be found below. Riley Zeller-Townson (Neuroethics and Art) Riley Zeller-Townson For my Neuroethics Scholars Program Fellowship, I will be studying, as well as participating in, the interaction between Neuroethics and Art.  This includes documenting and ana...

Jon Ciliberto artist and all around jack-of-all-trades documented our last Neuroethics Journal Club on Neurotechnologies and Lie Detection via painting/drawing.  Thanks, Jon! by Jon Ciliberto Our next Neuroethics Journal Club will be on December 14, 2011. We will be discussing the AJOB Neuroscience article, "Deflating the Neuroenhancement Bubble," and Emory Neuroscience Graduate student David Nicholson will facilitate this session.