Research Circle
on Democracy and Cultural Pluralism
One of the great social and political challenges of our time is to understand the nature of conflicts associated with difference, and finding the means by which to manage them peacefully, and in a manner that sustains and strengthens democracy is one of the great social and political challenges of our time. Conflicts based on race, ethnicity, gender, culture, and social and economic inequality are among the most compelling contemporary issues for students, for political scientists and for other scholars in the social sciences, humanities and the arts.
| These are issues and conflicts that are likely to become even more important as economic and technological changes, demographic processes, and immigration increase the internal diversity of open, democratic societies. |
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The activities of the Research Circle, funded by a gift from Jeanette Lerman ´69 and Joseph Neubauer, encourage undergraduates to undertake the challenges of advanced classroom learning, faculty to provide students with curricular offerings and supervised research opportunities, and both faculty and students to collaborate on original research projects focused on democracy and cultural pluralism.
The Research Circle on Democracy and Cultural Pluralism is based in the Politics Department, but draws on the participation of interested faculty and students across many departments. Activities include:
- colloquia in which outside speakers, graduate and undergraduate students, and faculty present their work for discussion (recent and upcoming events are listed below);
- the revision of existing courses and introduction of new ones to provide students with opportunities for structured study of the challenge of difference for democracy;
- support for student research in courses, through independent study, and in senior honors theses and graduate research papers;
- support for collaborative research and writing projects involving faculty and undergraduate and graduate students; and
- grants to support undergraduate honors research and faculty/student collaborative work.
Our goal is to nurture a sense of common intellectual engagement among faculty and students at Brandeis.
Research Circle on Cultural Pluralism and Democracy and The Department of Politics Present:
Mingus Mapps
Florence Levy Kay Fellow,
Brandeis University Department of Politics & AAAS
"The New Politics of Welfare: How Welfare Reform Changed Public Opinion on Poverty Programs and the Poor"
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
12:00 p.m.
Olin Sang 207
Dr. Mapps received his Ph.D. from Cornell University, Department of
Government in 2004. He is on leave from Bowdoin College, Department of Government and Legal Studies and the Africana Studies Program.
Light refreshments provided.
Recent events sponsored by the Research Circle:
- January 24, 2006:
Meet the Author: Jytte Klausen
Author and Brandeis Associate Professor of Politics Jytte Klausen was the first in the Meet the Author series when she discussed her new book: The Islamic Challenge: Politics in Western Europe.
Klausen talked about her controversial research findings. Born of extraordinary access and unusual cooperation, The Islamic Challenge has already created a stir in governmental organizations in the United States and abroad. In the course of her research, Klausen spoke to more than 300 of Europe's leading Muslims.
See the entire news article at: my.brandeis.edu/news/item?news_item_id=104348.
- January 24, 2006:
Martha Minow
Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
"Schooling Difference: Accommodations for Minorities in American Schools"
Professor Minow's research focuses on issues of equality and inequality, human rights and transitional societies, religion and pluralism, and law and social change. She has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books and articles, including Mary Joe Frug's Women and the Law (2004); Imagine Coexistence: Restoring Humanity After Violent Ethnic Conflict (2003); Engaging Cultural Differences (2002); and The Free Exercise of Culture (2001).
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