Theorizing at Rowan: Bradley Elicker, "Avoiding Artists Who Cause Harm: Support As Enabling Harm."

​The Department of Philosophy and World Religions is pleased to announce the return of our Theorizing at Rowan lecture series for Spring 2022.

​Our next event will be Wednesday March 30, at 5 pm.  Bradley Elicker (Philosophy, Rowan University), will present a a talk entitled “Avoiding Artists Who Cause Harm: Support as Enabling Harm.”  The event will be held in a hybrid format, in person in Business Hall, Room 121 and online via Zoom (registration required, see below).

​Prof. Elicker has provided the following abstract for his presentation: “he last several years have seen a reckoning for certain artists engaged in harmful and morally troubling behaviors. When confronted with the harmful actions of artists such as Kevin Spacy, R. Kelly, Ryan Adams, and Louis CK, many have withdrawn their support, refusing to engage with artworks associated with these individuals. However, the current debate typically focuses on an aesthetic question: Can we still enjoy the works of these artists? Is aesthetic engagement with their works still possible given their actions? I focus on the often-overlooked moral question: Should we continue to engage with these artists and their works? Is such engagement morally permissible? I answer that, in certain circumstances, it is not. Utilizing current literature on our relationship to harm and our responsibility for contributions to collective actions, I argue that engaging with these artists in ways that provides them public and/or financial support constitutes morally prohibited harm enabling. Insofar as our public and financial support provides an artist who causes harm with the ability to avoid punishment or exert professional pressure on their victims, we each have a moral obligation to withdraw our support.”

​This event is co-sponsored by the and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

​To register to attend this event online, go to:  https://lu.ma/tar22elicker

​Series Info:

​Theorizing at Rowan is a series of public, work in progress lectures covering a range of topics of relevance to scholars in philosophy, religion studies, and other related disciplines. The goal of the series is to promote scholarly exchange involving the Department of Philosophy and World Religions, the university, and interested scholars throughout the region. Speakers will include members of the department as well as faculty from other departments at Rowan and from other institutions.

​All Theorizing at Rowan events are free and open to the public.

​For more information, visit http://go.rowan.edu/theorizing.