Engage in Scholarly Discourse

Overview

The Institute for Humane Studies invites graduate students to apply for “Social Trust and the Future of Democracy,” a series of four online discussions exploring how declining social trust could impact democracy’s future. You may apply for one or more sessions.

Please note that accepted applicants are asked to acquire the reading materials on their own, whether through their institution’s library or by purchasing books. Participants receive a $125 honorarium plus a $50 stipend per session to purchase books.

Reading List

February 7 – “Social Trust and Institutions” 

• Martin Gurri. “The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium.” San Francisco: Stripe Press, 2018, 18–33, 172–223. 
• Bo Rothstein, D. Stolle. “The State and Social Capital: An Institutional Theory of Generalized Trust,” Comparative Politics, Vol. 40(4), July, 2008,  441–459. 
• Bo Rothstein. “Corruption and Social Trust: Why the Fish Rots from the Head Down,” Social Research: An International Quarterly, April, 2014, 1009–1032.
• Robert Putnam. “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital.” Journal of Democracy 6.1, January, 1995, 65–78.

March 7 – “Social Trust and Economic Growth” 

• Daron Acemoglu et al. “Institutions as the Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth.” NBER Working Paper Series, 2004, 1–29. 
• Christian Bjørnskov. “How Does Social Trust Affect Economic Growth?” SEJ 78(4), 2012, 1346–1368.  
• Paul J. Zak and Stephen Knack. “Trust and Growth.” The Economic Journal (London) 2001, Vol. 111, 295–321.
• Francis Fukuyama. “The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of the Social Order.” Free Press, 2000, 3–20, 203– 211, 249–262.

April 4 – “Diversity and Social Trust” 

• D. Stolle, S. Soroka, Richard Jonston. “When Does Diversity Erode Trust? Neighborhood Diversity, Interpersonal Trust and the Mediating Effect of Social Interaction.” Political Studies, 2008, 57–71. 
• Robert Putnam. “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty‐first Century,” Scandinavian Political Studies Vol. 30(2), 2007, 137–165. 
• David Miller. “Social Justice in Multicultural Societies,” in “Justice for Earthlings – Essays in Political Philosophy,” Cambridge University Press, 2013, 70–92. 
• Yascha Mounk. “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure.” Chapter 7. New York: Penguin, 2022, 169–193. 

May 2 – “Polarization and Social Trust” 

• Kevin Vallier. “Trust in a Polarized Age.” New York: Oxford University Press, 2020, 1–48. 
• Ryan Muldoon. “Diversity and Disagreement are the Solution, Not the Problem.” Niskanen Center, January 10, 2017. 
• Carl C. Berning and Conrad Ziller. “Social trust and radical right-wing populist party preferences,” Acta Politica, Vol. 52(2), June 2017, 198–217. 
• Jack Citrin and Laura Stoker. “Political Trust in a Cynical Age.” Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 21, 2018, 49–70.

Schedule

One Tuesday per month, February–May 2023, from 2 to 4 PM Eastern Time.

Overview

The Institute for Humane Studies invites graduate students to apply for “Polarization, Pluralism, and Democracy,” a series of four online discussions exploring the rise of polarization in America, how polarization threatens to undermine American democracy, and what can be done to address those threats. You may apply for one or more sessions.

Please note that accepted applicants are asked to acquire the reading materials on their own, whether through their institution’s library or by purchasing books. Participants will receive a $125 honorarium plus a $50 stipend per session to purchase books.

Reading List and Schedule

Discussions take place the first Thursday of each month, March–June 2023, from 2–4 p.m. ET

March 2 – “Social Media”

• Settle, Jaime E. Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America. Cambridge University Press, 2018.
  • Chapter 3: The END Framework of Political Interaction of Social Media
  • Chapter 4: How Do END Interactions on the News Feed Psychologically Polarize Users?
• Barberá, Pablo. “Social Media, Echo Chambers, and Political Polarization.” Social Media and Democracy. Nathaniel Persily and Joshua A. Tucker, Eds. Cambridge University Press, 2020, 34–55.
• Hwang, Tim. “Dealing With Disinformation: Evaluating the Case for Amendment of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.” Social Media and Democracy. Nathaniel Persily and Joshua A. Tucker, Eds. Cambridge University Press, 2020, 252–285.
• Villasenor, John. The Supreme Court and Social Media Platform Liability. Brookings.
• Gorwa, Robert and Timothy Garton Ash. “Democratic Transparency in the Platform Society.” Social Media and Democracy. Nathaniel Persily and Joshua A. Tucker, Eds. Cambridge University Press, 2020, 286–312.

April 6 – “Populism’s Rise”

• Ingleheart, Ronald and Pippa Noris. 2016. “Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash.” HKS Working Paper.
• Autor, David, David Dorn, Gordon Hanson, and Kaveh Majlesi. “Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure.” American Economic Review 2020, 110 (10): 3139–3183.
• Mutz, Diana C. “Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115.19 (2018): E4330–E4339.
• Carney, Timothy P. Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse. HarperCollins, 2020.
  • Chapter 3: “They’ve Chosen Not to Keep Up”: Is It Economics or Culture?

May 4 – “Race and Polarization”

• Abramowitz, A. and Jennifer McCoy. “United States: Racial Resentment, Negative Partisanship, and Polarization in Trump’s America.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. January 1, 2019.
• Westwood, S. and E. Peterson. “The Inseparability of Race and Partisanship in the United States.” Political Behavior. 2020.
• Gest, Justin. Majority Minority. Oxford University Press, 2022.
  • Chapter 1: Majority Minority: An Introduction
  • Chapter 2: Escape Velocity: The Pull of Nationalism amid Demographic Change
  • Chapter 10: From Backlash to Coexistence: How Institutional Choices Determine Social Boundaries
  • Chapter 11: National-Building: Messages and Messengers that Cultivate Coexistence

• Mounk, Yascha. The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure. New York: Penguin Press, 2022.
  • Chapter 9: Demography Isn’t Destiny

June 1 – “Polarization, Pluralism, and Democracy”

• Jacobs, Nicholas F., Desmond King, and Sidney Milkis. “Building a Conservative State: Partisan Polarization and the Redeployment of Administrative Power.” Perspectives on Politics, 17(2), 453–469.
• Postell, Joseph. “Situational Constitutionalism and the Congress of Collective Inaction.” Law and Liberty, 2017.
• Postell, Joseph. “The Case for the Unitary Speaker.” Law and Liberty, 2015.
• McCarty, Nolan. Polarization: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
  • Chapter 6: How Does Electoral Law Affect Legislative Polarization?
  • Chapter 7: Is the Trump Presidency a New Normal or More of the Same?
• Smith, Steven B. Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes. Yale University Press, 2021.
  • Chapter 5: Enlightened Patriotism
• Nussbaum, Martha. “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism.” Boston Review. 1994.

“Singularity” can mean many things in different fields, but for those who work in technology, a singularity is a moment of extraordinarily punctuated technological change so severe that society afterward is entirely different than it was before. Contenders for technological singularities in the past include the discovery of fire, the invention of agriculture, and the advent of heavy industry, but for the next several decades many experts are looking toward artificial intelligence. Importantly, though, the results of technological singularities are impossible to predetermine or control, and no one knows whether the change will yield more liberty or more tyranny. With the hope that the next generations of Classical Liberal scholars can help inform and influence technological development toward more peace, prosperity, and individual liberty, the IHS and Liberty Fund will be hosting an “Advanced Topics” discussion colloquium for late-stage graduate students. The conference will be moderated by an expert in the field and hosted at a date as yet to be determined, in the Washington, DC area.

The IHS will pay for all lodging and meals at the event as well as a travel stipend and $500 honoraria for your time and efforts.

The Institute for Humane Studies is inviting applications to “Race and Contemporary Political Life,” an online discussion series. This series will include discussions ranging from the contemporary framing of debates over race in both academic and political spheres to current and near-future developments in both discrimination and civil liberation. While the Classical Liberal tradition has always broadly supported equal rights without regard to race, we all face the hurdles of contemporary political polarization, the lack of a common language of or approach to racialized discourse, and the potential to blind ourselves from the discriminatory impacts of new technologies. This series will attempt to reposition Classical Liberalism on the forefront of these issues, seeking a way forward in our political lives that accomplishes equal justice for all both today and tomorrow.

Please note that participants are expected to acquire their own readings and will receive an honoraria of $125 plus a $30 book stipend per session.

March 22 – “Contemporary Conversations on Race” 

• Noel Ignatiev. Treason to Whiteness is Loyalty to Humanity. Verso Books. 2022.

April 19 – “Race as a Source of Modern Folklore” 

• Patricia Turner. Trash Talk: Anti-Obama Lore and Race in the Twenty-First Century. University of California Press. 2022.

May 24 – “Recentering Abolition” 

• Derecka Purnell, Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom. Astra. 2022.

June 21 – “The Future of Equity” 

• Ruha Benjamin. Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. Polity. 2019.

Overview

The Institute for Humane Studies is inviting applications to “Classical Liberalism vs. Doomsday Weapons,” an online discussion series. Few things — if anything at all in our history — threatens human prosperity like the continued existence of “doomsday” nuclear weapons. They are in many ways the ultimate man-made threat to individual life, liberty, rights, and freedom itself, allowing powerful states to cement their existence and dictate much of the course of recent history. In this series, discussants will debate the value and danger of doomsday weapons, explore paths to abolition and destruction of stockpiles, and consider potential or likely future threats at dramatic scales.

Please note that participants are expected to acquire their own readings and will receive an honorarium of $125 plus a $30 book stipend per session.

Schedule

One Thursday a month from, March 23–June 22, 2023, from 2_4 p.m. ET

Reading List

March 23

• “A Case for the Bomb”  Mueller, John E. Atomic Obsession Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to al Qaeda. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

April 27

• “Against the Bomb”  Ellsberg, Daniel. The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear Planner. Bloomsbury USA, 2017.

May 25

• “Contemporary Attempts at Nuclear Abolition” Acheson, Ray. Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2021.

June 22

• “The Future of Doomsday” Hanson, Robin. “The Great Filter: Are We Almost Past It?” September 1998.
• “The Vulnerable World Hypothesis.” Bostrom, Nick. Global Policy 10, Iss. 4, November 2019.

Overview

The Institute for Humane Studies invites graduate students to apply for “Immigration and Executive Power,” a series of four discussions about the history, evolution, and limits of executive power over U.S. immigration. Using the book “The President and Immigration Law” by Drs. Adam Cox and Cristina M. Rodríguez, as well as selected articles, participants will explore the legal and political issues at play in the use of executive power for immigration action.

Please note that participants are expected to acquire their own readings and will receive an honoraria of $125 plus a $50 book stipend per session. As the primary reading for this series is a recent publication, participants are encouraged to acquire their copy as soon as possible upon registration.

Reading List

• April 4 – “History of the Modern Immigration System”
• April 11 – “Obama and Trump Era Immigration Action”
• April 18 – “Legislative Supremacy”
• April 25 – “Proposals for the Role of Executive Power”

Schedule

Four consecutive Tuesdays, April 4–25, from 2 to 4 PM Eastern Time.

Overview

The Institute for Humane Studies is inviting applications to “Race, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship.” This multidisciplinary series of online roundtable discussions will explore the barriers to entrepreneurial activity faced by different racial and ethnic groups.

Understanding these barriers requires zooming in on the characteristic experiences of racial and ethnic minorities. This includes the history of racially motivated legislation, regulation, and enforcement policies, and their ongoing effects. This discussion series will dig into that history, as well as contemporary analogs, to explore entrepreneurial activity and the barriers to it for groups such as Black, Indigenous, and Asian Americans.

Please note that participants are expected to acquire their own readings and will receive an honorarium of $125 plus a $30 book stipend per session.

Schedule

Discussions will take place one Wednesday per month, April–July 2023, from 2 to 4 PM Eastern Time.

• Session 1: April 19
• Session 2: May 31
• Session 3: June 21
• Session 4: July 19

The “New History of Capitalism” is among the more recent and (for many Classical Liberals, at least) controversial trends in academia. In order to foster productive and interdisciplinary engagement with the field, its major practitioners, and some of its most important works, IHS and Liberty Fund will be hosting an Advanced Topics discussion colloquium in the Spring of 2023. An audience of late-stage graduate students will discuss the origins and impacts of capitalism as presented by leading scholars within “The New History of Capitalism,” as well as some leading criticisms of the field. The conference will be moderated by an expert in the field and hosted at a date to be determined in the Washington, D.C. area.

The IHS will pay for all lodging and meals at the event as well as a travel stipend and $500 honoraria for your time and efforts.

Overview

One of the biggest barriers to affordable housing is the NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) movement, which routinely stifles construction in America’s most expensive cities. In this four-part online discussion series, we will explore and assess the underlying motivations of NIMBYs. This will go beyond economic concerns by investigating the psychological and cultural drivers of aversion to migration and dynamism, such as worries about the environment, social justice, and neighborhood character.

Please note that participants are expected to acquire their own readings and IHS will provide a $750 honorarium for your full participation in the series.

Schedule
Discussions will take place one Wednesday per month, April–July 2023, from 2 to 4 PM Eastern Time.

• Session 1: April 26
• Session 2: May 24
• Session 3: June 28
• Session 4: July 26

Overview

The Institute for Humane Studies is inviting applications to “Information, Narratives, and Race,” an online discussion series. This series will focus on the importance of both the flow of information and the construction of social and historical narratives, specifically as it relates to racialized politics in America. From the early days of Atlantic-wide slavery, marginalized and enslaved peoples have relied on their acute abilities to transmit information unnoticed by the enslavers; yet in modern times, information has been weaponized in entirely different ways. Through this series of discussions, faculty and graduate students will probe the intersections of information and race in America to better understand the origins of racialized political polarization, the ideological divisions within and between constructed racial groups, and chart a path forward for synthesis.

Please note that participants are expected to acquire their own readings and will receive an honorarium of $125, plus a $30 book stipend per session.

Reading List & Schedule

Discussions take place on the last Tuesday of each month, from May to August, at 2–4 PM Eastern Time.

May 30 – Blackness and Freedom

• Lindsey Stewart, ed. “The Politics of Black Joy: Zora Neale Hurston and Neo-Abolitionism.” Northwestern University Press. 2021.

June 27 – The Edges of Blackness: Ye, Conservatism, and Color

• Brandi Collins-Dexter. “Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and Our Political Future.” MacMillan. 2022.

July 25 – Race in the Age of “Alternative Facts”

• Flint, Michigan Water Crisis–News Articles and Government Documents:
  • April 2014: https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2014/05/state_says_flint_river_water_m.html
  • July 2015: http://flintwaterstudy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Muchmore-Lyon.pdf
  • July 2015: https://www.michiganradio.org/health/2015-07-13/leaked-internal-memo-shows-federal-regulators-concerns-about-lead-in-flints-water#stream/0
  • Leaked July 2015: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-11/documents/transmittal_of_final_redacted_report_to_mdeq.pdf
  • September 2015: http://flintwaterstudy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Lead-Advisory-Release.pdf 
  • November 2018: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know
  • July 2020: https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/health/repro/reports/clean-water-case-study-flint.html#:~:text=The%20water%20poisoning%20in%20Flint,the%20Flint%20River%20in%202014. 
• What is Flint? Place, storytelling, and social media narrative reclamation during the Flint water crisis
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2019.1577477?journalCode=rics20 
• Kansas City Kidnapping “Rumors”
  • September 2022: https://www.tiktok.com/@kansascitydefender/video/7147343546595413291 
  • September 2022: https://www.kmbc.com/article/kansas-city-missouri-serial-killer-rumor-kcpd-police-untrue/41390603
  • October 2022: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/16/missouri-woman-escapes-captivity 
  • October 2022: https://kansascitydefender.com/justice/black-woman-kidnapped-prospect-excelsior-springs-serial-killer/ 

August 29 – The Future of Being Black in America

• Andre Carrington. “Speculative Blackness: The Future of Race in Science Fiction.” University of Minnesota Press. 2016.

Overview:

The Institute for Humane Studies is inviting applications for “Crime Dramas and Criminal Justice.” Television crime dramas dominate the ratings and are the closest many Americans will get to seeing the criminal justice system in action. This means that the way crime dramas present policing not only shapes public perceptions of real world police, but also can have implications for criminal justice reform. This multidisciplinary series of online roundtable discussions will explore the impact television’s fictional cop shows have, as well as look at the biases and misrepresentations in the way they present the criminal justice system.

Participants will be provided with the readings for each discussion and will receive an honorarium of $500 for full attendance.

Schedule

Discussions will take place once per month, June–July 2023, from 4:00-6:00 PM Eastern Time.

• Session 1: June 14
• Session 2: June 28
• Session 3: July 12
• Session 4: July 26

Overview

At a time when bold ideas and clear thinking are needed to sustain diverse societies, we’re convening an interdisciplinary group of scholars to explore how diversity interacts with social, political, and institutional trust in liberal democracies.  

Share your expertise and tackle pressing questions with other scholars attending the Midwest Political Science Association’s (MPSA) annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. 

The symposium takes place in the downtown area at the Royal Sonesta River North on April 12, 2023, the day before the MPSA meetings start, beginning with opening remarks at 3:15 PM CT and concluding with a networking reception at 6:00 PM CT.

Please come prepared to share your ideas for future academic research or public-facing work, such as op-eds, on trust and diversity. For your full participation, IHS will provide a stipend to offset travel costs.

If you have research interests in this area, we encourage you to apply for this opportunity.

Keynote Speaker
Jay Van Bavel, New York University

Panelists

• Michael Wohl, Carleton University
• Peter Thisted Dinesen, University College London, University of Copenhagen
• Danielle Brown, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Schedule

Wednesday, April 12

*All times are listed in Central Time

2:30–3:15 p.m. | Registration with Coffee

3:15–3:30 p.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks

3:30–4:15 p.m. | Keynote Address

4:15–4:30 p.m. | Coffee Break

4:30–5:50 p.m. | Panel with Q&A

5:50–6:00 p.m. | Closing Remarks

6:00–7:00 p.m. | Cocktail Hour

Overview:

Large language models and generative AI raise interesting and immediate issues not just for creators, computer scientists, and ethicists, but also increasingly for entrepreneurs, managers, and business leaders. Share your expertise and discuss the latest research on artificial intelligence and the future of work with scholars at this Academic Research Symposium on August 3, 2023, in Boston, Massachusetts. This program precedes the Academy of Management (AOM) Annual Meeting.

The symposium will begin with opening remarks at 2:00 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, August 3, and conclude with a networking reception ending at 6:30 PM.

Please come prepared to share your ideas for future academic research or public-facing work, such as op-eds, on artificial intelligence and its impact on the future of work. For your full participation, IHS will provide a stipend to offset travel costs.

If you have research interests in this area, we encourage you to apply for this opportunity.

Overview

In the post-Covid world, the downstream effects of Covid-era immigration policy are already making an impact in labor, education, health and numerous other sectors. This program is open to scholars in economics, sociology, law, and other related disciplines. We invite scholars researching immigration issues to discuss their work, collaborate with cross-disciplinary participants, and benefit from time with our panelists as well as our keynote, Dr. Giovanni Peri.

Share your expertise and discuss the future of immigration in the post-Covid world with other scholars at this Academic Research Symposium on August 11–12, 2023, in Northern California (exact location to be determined). 

The symposium will begin with opening remarks at 5:00 PM Pacific Time on Friday, August 11, and conclude with a networking reception at 5:00 PM PT on Saturday, August 12.

Please come prepared to share your ideas for future academic research or public-facing work, such as op-eds, on post-Covid impacts on immigration. For your full participation, IHS offers a hotel room onsite at the event for the nights of August 11 and 12, as well as a travel stipend to help offset the costs of travel to the event.

If you have research interests in this area, we encourage you to apply for this opportunity.

Keynote Speaker

Giovanni Peri, University of California-Davis

Schedule

*All times are listed in Pacific Time

Friday, August 11

4:30–5:00 p.m. | Registration with Coffee

5:00–5:15 p.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks

5:15–6:45 p.m. | Panel One

6:45–7:30 p.m. | Dinner

7:30–8:30 p.m. | Keynote Address

8:30–10:00 p.m. | Evening Social

Saturday, August 12

10:30–11:00 a.m. | Coffee Service

11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Panel Two

12:30–1:45 p.m. | Luncheon

1:45–3:15 p.m. | Panel Three

3:15–3:45 p.m. | Coffee Break

3:45–4:45 p.m. | Breakout Discussions

4:45–5:00 p.m. | Closing Remarks

5:00–6:30 p.m. | Cocktail Hour

Overview

The Institute for Humane Studies is pleased to announce this online webinar Friday, April 28 from 12:00 to 1:00 PM Eastern. Join us for a conversation with Justin Gest, associate professor of policy and government at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government about his research on the reasons why people choose to migrate, as well as the social and political implications of migration.

Dr. Gest suggests that there are a variety of factors that motivate people to migrate. Economic factors, such as the desire for higher wages or better job opportunities, are often cited as the primary motivation for migration. However, social and political factors, such as conflict, persecution, and discrimination, also play a significant role in driving people to migrate. He also highlights the role that social networks and personal connections play in the migration process. People are more likely to migrate to areas where they have family or friends who can help them navigate the challenges of settling into a new community.

IHS Community Engagement Strategist, Jeanne Hoffman, will host the conversation, which will be followed by Q&A.