Double Exposure
What constitutes a society based on solidarity?

Omri Boehm, Associate Professor of Philosophy at The New School, explores the complex relationship between identity politics, universalism, and Kantian philosophy. Boehm will discuss whether Enlightenment ideals—like those in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and German Basic Law—still hold in today’s world or perpetuate Eurocentric views.

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Thomas Mann House Fellows Pola Lehmann and Johannes Gerschewski explore the value of compromise in democratic societies. Is there empirical evidence that political debates are becoming increasingly heated and polarized? What can we do to counteract this, and what are the limits of compromise?

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Moral philosopher Dr. Susan Neiman and scholar Dr. Keidrick Roy discuss the intersection of politics, ethnicity, race, and solidarity in today’s complex world. What is political solidarity? How is political solidarity shaped by race, religion, and ethnicity? If there is no shared vision for the future, is collective solidarity hopeless?

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Today's societies are characterized by a high degree of diversity and complexity. Cultural, ethnic, religious, and linguistic differences can make social cohesion difficult. Against this backdrop, political and public institutions can foster solidarity across social groups. How do these different interest groups interact with public and political institutions? Dr. Delia Baldassarri (New York University) and Dr. Jan-Werner Müller (Princeton University) explored the forces promoting and disrupting social cohesion in today’s complex environment.

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In cases where strong social cohesion is the result of proximity, common interests, and shared identity, solidarity is not a problem. However, not all societies have strong social cohesion. How can we promote greater resilience in society? Dr. Clara van den Berg (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, WZB) and Dr. Leah Gose (USC Dornsife’s Equity Research Institute) will discuss the differences between community and society when it comes to solidarity, resilience, and social cohesion.

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After WWII, European unification was framed as a "peace project," overlooking colonial obligations from nations like Germany, France, and Britain. Questions of solidarity between descendants of colonizers and the colonized parallel issues raised during Black Lives Matter. Dr. Emily Marker (Rutgers University) and Dr. Monica van der Haagen-Wulff (University of Cologne) will discuss the significance of historical injustices today – and how this plays out in the complex political environment we live in.

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How is the Shoah addressed in museums? How do museums extend the representation and education of this singular rupture in the history of humankind to other genocides? What can be understood as universal lesson from the Shoah, and what consequences need to be drawn from it when it comes to the question of solidarity? Historian and philosopher Dr. Leora Auslander, Chair of the Department of Race, Diaspora and Indigeneity at the University of Chicago, discussed these questions together with literary critic and director of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Dr. Mirjam Wenzel.

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