Identity

Catalog description

Questions about identity dominate public discourse as well as political and intellectual debate in many parts of the world. This course explores the following questions as entry points into these global conversations: How are personal and social identity related? Is identity something fundamental about us as human beings? How is identity formed? Do we have one identity or many? What is the role of identity in history? What is the relation between identity and economic activity? How does identity relate to politics and the nature of the state? What is the relation between identity and religion? How do firms, societies, and states use identity? How is identity related to conflict and war? Readings and assignments will allow students to take up perspectives from philosophy, politics, sociology, history, and economics to examine these and related questions.