CASE Library

Explore The Issues that Matter.

We excitedly invite you to browse, search, and explore our newly redesigned library of over 300 case studies which render some of the most complex and controversial moral and political issues of our time. These cases were formerly used for official NHSEB competitions at the Regional, Divisional, and National Championship levels. They are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses.

The NHSEB Case Library is an excellent tool for competitive preparation, internal or intramural competition, or beyond the context of the Ethics Bowl activity completely—as a classroom resource for Grades 9-12 and beyond.

Featured Cases

NAVIGATING THE LIBRARY

NHSEB’s Case Library is now fully browsable by individual case, or by Case Set—using the filters below. Or, if you already know a bit about what you’re looking for, the entire library of over 300 Ethics Bowl cases is newly indexed, referenced, and searchable by title, topic, keyword, year, and category. Each individual case entry contains the full text of the case and discussion questions as they originally appeared for competitive use, all references assembled in hyperlinked footnotes, and additional contextual resources curated by NHSEB HQ.

CASE SET COLLECTION

FIND AN ETHICS BOWL CASE

ATTRIBUTION AND CITATION

All National High School Ethics Bowl cases are the intellectual property of the Parr Center for Ethics, and all are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses once retired from use in NHSEB competitions. This library represents thousands of hours of work from our Contributing Authors, Editors, and others. Please do not reproduce NHSEB cases or sets—in part or in whole—without attribution, or modify the text of individual cases or sets. If you reproduce or make reference to NHSEB cases from this library (e.g., in classroom materials, academic papers, etc.), please attribute and/or cite those materials:

National High School Ethics Bowl (Ed.), <YEAR>. “<Case Title>.” National High School Ethics Bowl Case Library. UNC Parr Center for Ethics: Chapel Hill, NC. http://nhseb.org/case-library

Browse The Library

2018-2019 National Case Set Katie Leonard 2018-2019 National Case Set Katie Leonard

Boycott, Divest, Sanction

Citing security concerns, in the early 2000s Israel began to build a wall across the occupied territories of the West Bank, effectively isolating and restricting the movement of 25,000 Palestinians to and from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the United Nations (UN) condemned the barrier, and so does the BDS movement. What are the most morally salient consequences of boycotting, in this case? What do you think about the moral efficacy of boycotting in general? What is the role of American politicians in speaking about Israel?

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2017-2018 National Case Set Katie Leonard 2017-2018 National Case Set Katie Leonard

Electoral College in Question

The founders of the USA adopted the Electoral College as the system of choosing the president. People now ask if it is still appropriate. Proponents argue that it protects against the election of unqualified candidates and that it guarantees that larger states cannot exercise tyranny over smaller states. Detractors argue that its origins undermine its use and that it leads to the overrepresentation of the interests of smaller states.

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