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

Home for the Holidays

After learning about the cruelty involved in factory farming practices, Ellen became vegetarian in her thirties. She felt content in this decision until the holidays. Tradition is important in her family and her Italian family often servies non-vegetarian food at gatherings. Ellen's mom did not take the news of her daughter's diet change well and felt betrayed as though they could no longer share their beloved tradition of cooking their culture's recipes together.

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2020-2021 Regional Case Set Katie Leonard 2020-2021 Regional Case Set Katie Leonard

American Dirt

American Dirt, a novel about the journey of a mother and her son seeking refuge in the U.S. was released to mixed reviews. Many immediately attacked the book upon release, saying that it was stereotypical and did not accurately show the challenges Latin Americans face, and that it lifted the voice of a white person who has never experienced these issues. Those in support of the book believe that it may be able to reach a wider audience than other books on the same topic.

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

Who Owns a Dance?

Fortnite is a free online multiplayer game very popular with teens. Although it’s free, its developers make a profit through add-on sales through the game’s store of things such as buying a new ‘skin’ (a different outfit), or a new celebration dance. But Fortnite fails to get permission or give credit to the people who create popular dances within their game, as is the case with 2 Milly. Should a person who invented a dance have the right to prevent other people from using it without permission? Why or why not?

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

Racial and Ethnic Matching in Adoption

In recent years, several controversies have arisen over racial and ethnic matching between parents and children in adoptions. Despite the fact that laws often prohibit such racial and ethnic matching on the grounds that it is discriminatory, supporters of matching continue to argue that adopted children are better off when placed with parents from the same racial or ethnic background. What rights do would-be parents have when it comes to adopting children?

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