Politics and Polarization: The Place of Identities in Democracy

null, Kwame Anthony Appiah (New York University)

2023 PPE Distinguished Public Lecture with Kwame Anthony Appiah

Award-winning philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist Kwame Anthony Appiah will deliver the 2023 PPE Distinguished Public Lecture at Virginia Tech.

Kwame Anthony Appiah is a Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University. He has published widely in literary and cultural studies, with a focus on African and African-American culture. Among many other honors, Professor Appiah won the Ralph J. Bunche Award of the American Political Science Association “for the best scholarly work in political science which explores the phenomenon of ethnic and cultural pluralism,” the Outstanding Book Prize of the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights, and the Arthur Ross Book Award of the Council on Foreign Relations.

At Virginia Tech, Professor Appiah will speak about politics and polarization. Drawing from his work on cosmopolitanism and identity, Professor Appiah will first explore the idea of identity philosophically, then focus on the psychology of identity and the challenges of managing identities in a humane way. He will examine how partisan identity works in our own society today, and end by discussing the role of identities across the world, defending the continuing relevance of a cosmopolitan respect for the diversity of identities, an attitude that is very much under attack.

The lecture will take place on March 15, 2023, from 5-6:30pm in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre of the Moss Arts Center. No tickets are required. The lecture will be followed by a public reception. Here is more information about the event.

You are cordially invited to attend.