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
The Price of Knowledge
The creation of websites like Sci-Hub, which illegally hosts and distributes millions of research papers for free, has drawn both praise and legal action. Supporters of the site argue that the website democratizes education, levels the playing field for universities without as much funding, and speeds up the research process. Any profit lost by websites like Sci-Hub is not affecting researchers, but rather publishing companies. These publishing companies argue that Sci-Hub impacts their ability to provide high-quality science, as well as encourages intellectual property theft.
Extra! Extra! Don’t Read About It!
Retired Nike executive Erik Hagerman has decided to block all aspects of the news from his life in the name of self care. He feels that since his decision to stay out of politics, his mental health has improved tremendously. Some critize this since part of being an American consist of being an active citizen, especially when it comes to politics. A man of his stature can help in ways most can't. On the other hand, some say that it is his life, so he can do what he wants as long as it makes him happy. Everyone avoids things that stress them out and Hagerman is doing just that. Is Erik Hagerman failing some kind of moral obligation to the country?
Online Privacy
CISPA and CISA are laws that call for government agencies and businesses to share information about cybersecurity threats with one another and provide liability protection to private companies that share cyber threat indicators with the government. When is it morally acceptable for companies to share user information? When can the government infringe online privacy rights?