Gen Ed 1202 | Newly approved
How can diverse societies be successful?
Diversity is a fundamental problem and fundamental advantage of the human condition. If humans were all the same, free of identity, ideology, or culture, then many social scourges—prejudice, discrimination, perhaps even some violent conflict—would be dramatically reduced, if not eliminated. But with diversity also comes the wonderful variation that allows for the forces of evolution and innovation to better societies. In response to this tension, humans have created institutions to manage diversity by regulating conflict and reconciling differences of opinion. Politics is the process of navigating these difference managing institutions. The problem of politics then is the problem of diversity.
Drawing on the disciplines of political science, psychology, economics, and philosophy, this course examines the question of how diverse societies and institutions can be successful. The course ultimately aims to provide students with the tools to be informed citizens and leaders in a diverse society.
In the first part of the course, we start with the psychology of division, examining the basic question of why there is variation between humans and why this variation affects our social behavior. We then examine the consequences of diversity. Why does diversity make the necessary elements of society, such as coordination, difficult?
In the second part of the course, we will draw primarily on philosophy to ask if diversity is a desirable state for societies and institutions or if societies should rather seek homogeneity.
Having considered these questions, in the third part of the course we examine how political institutions manage diversity by employing different strategies, sometimes strategies of division and sometimes strategies of creating unity. Drawing on classic works of political theory and contemporary political science, we will examine institutions, including ethnonationalist and multicultural states, constitutions, and other institutions that are created to successfully manage diversity.
Finally, in the fourth part of the course, we will examine the public policy of managing diversity. How do societies choose to manage public spaces, restrict flows of immigration, and create institutions, such as schools, to reconcile a diversity of interests.