New Ethics Center director brings ethics to Kalamazoo Canadiana Fest

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — When you hear the word “ethics,” you probably don’t picture bagpipes echoing down Kalamazoo Mall Plaza on a Saturday morning.

But if you followed the sound through the doors of the Kalamazoo City Center and up a staircase lined with Canadian flags last weekend, you would find philosophy professor and proud Canadian Dr. Ashley Atkins standing at a table that read “Western Michigan University Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.” 

Housed within the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center encourages engagement with ethical topics on campus and beyond through sponsored events, conferences and book clubs. As the new director, Atkins is excited to expand this mission to more public spaces throughout Kalamazoo to connect WMU’s talented faculty with the broader community.

“It’s really about playing with format to allow for people to appreciate what people are working on on campus,” Atkins says. “It’s also an effort to break down the solitude of our work.”

She kicked off her tenure by sponsoring the premiere of Canadian director Abraam Dawod’s documentary “BURD” at the annual Can-Am Peace Jam on September 19. The film follows the life of Burdett “Burd” Sisler, the oldest person in Canada until his recent passing at 111 years old, and poses a classical ethical question: the meaning of a life well lived.

“It’s close to the mission of the Center in that way in wanting people to think about what’s of value in life,” Atkins says.

Dawod’s film doesn’t provide a clear answer or present a longer life as more fulfilling. Instead, it invites audiences to ponder this question as they take an intimate look into Sisler’s life through interviews with him and his children, shots of his family’s conversations around the dining table and memories of his late wife, experiencing the unique blend of loss and joy in life as a centenarian.

“BURD” closely aligns with Atkins’ mission to foster appreciation for ethical questions by encouraging curiosity and open discussion rather than championing a “correct” solution. Following the screening, she facilitated a public Q&A panel with director Dawod and executive producer Käroli Grenman to discuss the film’s themes of aging, connection and grief. She also invited Tyler Gibb, co-chair of the Department of Medical Ethics, Humanities, and Law at WMU’s Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, to answer questions about physician-assisted suicide, which Sisler contemplates briefly in the film. 

“The goal is to create an atmosphere where these issues can be discussed with various kinds of support,” Atkins says.

In an interview with Dawod, she noted his choice not to explain Sisler’s unusual vitality considering the current popularity of biohacking and longevity science.

“From the start, what interested me about Burd's story was not the biology of his long life, but the subjective experience of living to 110 years old — his memories, emotions, joy, pain, philosophy,” Dawod said.

The premiere embodies Atkins’ vision for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society as a place where discussions about the meaning of a fulfilling life aren’t out of place amidst live music and butter tart contests at vibrant local events. She is excited to use more events to build bridges with Kalamazoo and find ways to show that everyone can engage with ethics.

“What I've found in talking to people about ethics is that when I say ‘ethics,’ they hear ‘problems,’” says Atkins. “I want to change that perception in the broader community. Ethics is woven into everything that we do and it's at the heart of our community building.”

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