Multiculturalism without Privileging Liberalism

Speaker Series Presentation

The CSDD and Department of Political Studies present Dr. Tariq Modood, a professor of sociology, politics, and public policy at Bristol University. Dr. Modood will be presenting his talk "Multiculturalism without Privileging Liberalism."

Liberalism’s primary medium is that of values, principles, and laws. One of the ways to de-absolutize liberalism in relation to multiculturalism and the respectful inclusion of minorities is to recognize the sociological and normative significance of other features of social life. I do so by focusing on the significance of identity and by highlighting the normative role of dialogue in a context of cultural and value conflicts. This offers a bottom-up basis for a political theory of multiculturalism, which is not simply about trends in academic liberalism but is about claims of national citizenship and national identity by those seeking inclusion in a new sense of the national. While a focus on identity, both in terms of recognition and in terms of fostering commonality and societal unity is not sufficient, it is a necessary dimension that political theorists who frame things in terms of liberalism miss and thereby miss both what needs to be addressed and what is needed for liberal – amongst other – values to be secured. (Nor do socialists, human rights champions, cosmopolitans, or localists).

Dr. Modood is the founding director of the Bristol University Research Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship and co-founding editor of the international journal, Ethnicities. He has held over 40 grants and consultancies (UK, European, and the US), has over 35 (co-)authored and (co-)edited books and reports, and over 250 articles or chapters in political philosophy, sociology, and public policy. I was a Robert Schuman Fellow at the European University Institute for part of 2013-15, a ‘Thinker in Residence’ at the Royal Academy of Flanders, Brussels in 2017, and a Visiting Fellow, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor (2017-2020).

Read more about Tariq Modood at http://www.tariqmodood.com/