Biography
Sean Eli McCormick is a PhD candidate in the Department of Bioethics at ǿմý School of Medicine. He has served as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Akron since Fall 2022, and as an Instructor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Cleveland State University since Fall 2016. He also serves as a clinical ethics intern at University Hospitals and is a member of the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Ethics Committee (July 2014-present), University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital Ethics Committee (October 2021-present), and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Patients Without Proxy (PWP) Subcommittee (March 2015-present). He additionally serves as a peer reviewer for Quality Matters, an organization that certifies online and blended courses for quality standards across the country.
As an Instructor at Cleveland State University, Mr. McCormick has taught courses in reasoning and argument, morals and rights, normative ethics, philosophy in science-fiction and fantasy, bioethics and the law, foundations of bioethics, and introductory courses in both philosophy and religious studies. As a Senior Lecturer at The University of Akron, Mr. McCormick has taught courses in normative ethics, biomedical ethics, and introductory courses in philosophy.
At ǿմý, Mr. McCormick has served as the course director for "Perspectives on Health: Introduction to Medical Humanities and Social Medicine," a survey course designed to give students a broad overview of medical humanities and medical social sciences. The course introduces students to a series of guest lecturers from around the area who specialize in various fields of medical humanities and social medicine to discuss the epistemology, methods, and theories of their disciplines. Students also have the opportunity to visit area museums for tours related to medical history and art observation. He has also taught “Bioethics: Dilemmas,” a survey course covering topics and issues in bioethics including the relationship between providers and patients, research ethics, informed consent, abortion, physician aid-in-dying, genetic choices, resource allocation, racism in medicine, and more.
Teaching
ǿմý Courses Taught
- BETH 210: Introduction to Social Medicine and Medical Humanities
- BETH 271: Bioethics: Dilemmas
Teaching Interests
My primary goal as an educator is to provide a classroom that is inclusive and engaging, and that invites students to be critical thinkers and active learners as opposed to passive recipients of information. As a constructivist, I believe that learners best acquire knowledge through experiential learning and discussion, building upon their previous experiences and beliefs. It is my goal to empower students and give them the confidence to succeed, as well as to share their own perspectives with fellow classmates. To this end, I employ the techniques of active learning, problem-based learning, the Socratic method, and small group learning in my courses. My classes usually consist of a hybrid of engaged lectures, utilizing the shared dialogue of the Socratic method, and problem-based learning in small groups discussing case studies and ethical dilemmas.
Research
Research Interests
- Disability Bioethics
- Mad Studies
- Health Humanities and Bioethics Education
- Transplant Ethics
- Professionalism and Boundaries
- Emerging Technologies, particularly Transhumanism and AI
Research Projects
Mr. McCormick is currently working as a research associate with members of the Health Humanities Consortium’s Curriculum and Assessment Committee to engage health humanities educators around the nation in discussions about the content, skills, and values that are central to health humanities programs. In this role, he has been involved with focus group transcript verification, qualitative coding, thematic analysis, manuscript preparation, and presentations at national and regional conferences.
Awards and Honors
Graduate Dean's Instructional Excellence Award
AY 2023-2024 | ǿմý
The Graduate Dean’s Instructional Excellence Award is available to graduate student teaching assistants who demonstrate outstanding achievement in instruction in undergraduate classes within the past year. It presents academic departments with an annual opportunity to honor graduate students who have shown exceptional skill and dedication.
Graduate Student Appreciation Award
AY 2021-2022 | ǿմý
An opportunity for faculty, staff, and community members to recognize graduate students that make a difference on our campus and/or the Cleveland community during the past year.
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Outstanding Scholar Award
Spring 2014 | Cleveland State University
Recognizes graduating students for excellence in academic achievement as well as engagement in areas such as scholarly or creative activity, and campus or community involvement.
Professional Memberships
- American Society of Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH), October 2021 - Present
- Health Humanities Consortium (HHC), July 2023 - Present
- Academy for Professionalism in Health Care (APHC), August 2023 - Present
- Bioethics Network of Ohio (BENO), February 2024 - Present
External Appointments
- The University of Akron Department of Philosophy, Senior Lecturer, Akron, OH, 2022 - Present
- Cleveland State University Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Instructor, Cleveland, OH, 2016 - Present
- University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Ethics Committee, Cleveland, OH, 2014 - Present
- University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Patients Without Proxies (PWP) Subcommittee, Cleveland, OH, 2015 - Present
- UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, Pediatric Ethics Committee, Cleveland, OH, 2021 - Present
- Quality Matters, Peer Reviewer, Annapolis, MD, 2020 - Present
Publications
Loue, Sana, Harshita Kuna, and Eli McCormick. “Transhumanism: Camouflage for the Perpetuation of Eugenic Ideology and Structural Injustice?” Journal of Intercultural Management and Ethics 6, no. 3 (November 2023): 19-31.
Presentations
“Using Patient Preference Predictors in Guiding Treatment for Unrepresented Patients." Presented at Building and Rebuilding Trust: Reflection and Action in Professionalism, Academy for Professionalism in Health Care (Chicago, IL), June 2025.
“Gerontechnology and the Promise of Intergenerational Relationships: A Critique of Marketing Representations." Presented at Ageing, Old Age, and Intergenerational Relationships through Narrative and Practice: Challenging Ageism, European Network of Aging Studies and North American Network of Aging Studies (Lleida, SPN), April 2025.
“Educator Perspectives on Knowledges, Skills, and Values Components of Medical/Health Humanities Education: Focus Group Study Results." Presented at Healing Institutions, Health Humanities Consortium (Philadelphia, PA), April 2025.
“Educating the Health Humanist: What Are We Teaching?" Presented at 14th Annual Midwestern Medical Humanities Conference, Western Michigan University (Virtual), October 2024.
“Harmonized Humanities: A Focus Group Study Exploring Shared Themes of High-Quality Health Humanities Programs." Presented at What Does It Mean to be Human?, American Society of Bioethics EHEHPRT Affinity Group Meeting (St. Louis, MO), September 2024.
“Difference or Defect? Disability Considered in the Context of Transhumanism." Presented at Religion, Culture and Global Bioethics, World Congress of Bioethics (Doha, Qatar), June 2024. Author.
“Teaching Health Humanities: A Focus Group Study to Define Components of a High Quality Health Humanities Program." Presented at Social, Emotional, and Community Health – Humanities Interventions, Health Humanities Consortium (Phoenix, AZ), April 2024. Panelist.
“Directed Organ Donation of Clinicians to Patients Under Their Care: Ethical and Cultural Considerations." Presented at Reimagining Professionalism: Using Cultural and Generational Lenses. Academy for Professionalism in Health Care (Virtual), November 2023.
"Altruistic Gift or Unfair Preference?: Directed Organ Donation of Clinicians to Patients Under Their Care." Presented at Engaging the Past to Energize the Future: Creating Space for Inclusive Public Discourse, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (Baltimore, MD), October 2023.
"Knowledge of the Divine: Arguments For and Against Reliability of Religious Experience." Presented at Celebrating Philosophy: A Dialogue on the Nature of Morality, Reality, and Knowledge, College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA), March 2014.
Education
Master of Arts, ǿմý Bioethics and Medical Humanities, 2022
Master of Arts, Cleveland State, University, Philosophy, 2016
Bachelor of Arts, Cleveland State University, Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Classical & Medieval Studies, 2014
Residencies, Internships, and Fellowships
Clinical Ethics Intern, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Department of Clinical Ethics, 2024-2025