At this panel discussion, recent PPE Research Fellows Byron Tsang, Maria Snegovaya, and Binio Binev will discuss their work on the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic, economic policies, and democracy.

Dr. Tsang’s research engages with Adam Smith’s notion of division of labor and its distortion during the pandemic and Dr. Snegovaya and Dr. Binev’s work analyzes the relationship between economic policies and the decline of social democratic parties.

Join this informal, yet intellectually rich discussion. All faculty and students are welcome to attend. For more information please visit https://ppe.liberalarts.vt.edu//category/ppe-research-fellows/

Sponsor: Administration
Homepage: http://www.calendar.vt.edu/index.php?calendarid=clahs
Contact: Michael Moehler
E-Mail:: moehler@nullvt.edu

This semester, the PPE Reading Group will discuss Tommie Shelby’s Dark Ghettos: Injustice, Dissent, and Reform (2016).

In his pathbreaking new book, Tommie Shelbie presents a new perspective on urban black neighborhoods in the US that are characterized by poverty, violence, and instability. From this perspective, these “dark ghettos” are not merely social problems to be fixed; they are symptoms of systemic injustice. This shift in perspective leads to novel questions about how the government may act with regard to these communities, but also about the obligations (or lack thereof) of the ghetto poor. Each chapter focuses on core dimensions of the phenomenon: Racism and wealth/income inequities, residential segregation, cultural configurations, reproductive choices, single-mother families, joblessness, crime, and mass incarceration.

The reading group is (provisionally) scheduled for every other Thursday from 4-5:30pm in the conference room of the Kellogg Center (820 University City Blvd). Participation is open to students (whether you are already a PPE student or interested in becoming one) and select faculty.

Please sign up with Fabian Wendt (fabianwendt@nullvt.edu) to receive your book in time to read. Enjoy free pizza and soft drinks with our discussions!

Sponsor: Administration
Homepage: http://www.calendar.vt.edu/index.php?calendarid=clahs
Contact: Fabian Wendt
E-Mail:: fabianwendt@nullvt.edu
for more info visit the web at:
https://ppe.liberalarts.vt.edu//2022/01/03/tommie-shelby-dark-ghettos-injustice-dissent-and-reform/

The PPE Cinema, organized by the Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, welcomes faculty and students from across campus who are interested in watching and discussing great films. Together we watch movies on the big screen in the conference room on the Kellogg Center and discuss the questions in philosophy, politics, and economics they raise. Food and beverages are provided.

Film title: Babel
A psychological drama telling interwoven stories from around the globe and thereby reflecting on globalization. Golden Globe for best motion picture.

Price: Free
Sponsor: Administration
Homepage: http://www.calendar.vt.edu/index.php?calendarid=clahs
Contact: Fabian Wendt
E-Mail:: fabianwendt@nullvt.edu

This semester, the PPE Reading Group will discuss Tommie Shelby’s Dark Ghettos: Injustice, Dissent, and Reform (2016).

In his pathbreaking new book, Tommie Shelbie presents a new perspective on urban black neighborhoods in the US that are characterized by poverty, violence, and instability. From this perspective, these “dark ghettos” are not merely social problems to be fixed; they are symptoms of systemic injustice. This shift in perspective leads to novel questions about how the government may act with regard to these communities, but also about the obligations (or lack thereof) of the ghetto poor. Each chapter focuses on core dimensions of the phenomenon: Racism and wealth/income inequities, residential segregation, cultural configurations, reproductive choices, single-mother families, joblessness, crime, and mass incarceration.

The reading group is (provisionally) scheduled for every other Thursday from 4-5:30pm in the conference room of the Kellogg Center (820 University City Blvd). Participation is open to students (whether you are already a PPE student or interested in becoming one) and select faculty.

Please sign up with Fabian Wendt (fabianwendt@nullvt.edu) to receive your book in time to read. Enjoy free pizza and soft drinks with our discussions!

Sponsor: Administration
Homepage: http://www.calendar.vt.edu/index.php?calendarid=clahs
Contact: Fabian Wendt
E-Mail:: fabianwendt@nullvt.edu
for more info visit the web at:
https://ppe.liberalarts.vt.edu//2022/01/03/tommie-shelby-dark-ghettos-injustice-dissent-and-reform/

On April 2, 2022, the Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics will co-organize a daylong discussion colloquium for selected undergraduate students on the topic “Markets and Morality.”

Professor Christopher Freiman (William and Mary) will serve as discussion leader to facilitate an in-depth exploration of the questions and challenges raised by a set of critical, seminal readings on the topic.

Sponsor: Administration
Homepage: http://www.calendar.vt.edu/index.php?calendarid=clahs
Contact: Michael Moehler
E-Mail:: moehler@nullvt.edu

Award-winning philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist Kwame Anthony Appiah will deliver the 2023 PPE Distinguished Public Lecture at Virginia Tech.

Kwame Anthony Appiah is Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University. He has published widely in literary and cultural studies, with a focus on African and African-American culture. Among many other honors, Professor Appiah won the Ralph J. Bunche Award of the American Political Association “for the best scholarly work in political science which explores the phenomenon of ethnic and cultural pluralism,” the Outstanding Book Prize of the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights, and the Arthur Ross Book Award of the Council on Foreign Relations.

At Virginia Tech, drawing from his work on cosmopolitanism and identity, Professor Appiah will first explore the idea of identity philosophically, then focus on the psychology of identity and the challenges of managing identities in a humane way. He will examine how partisan identity works in our own society today, and end by discussing the role of identities across the world, defending the continuing relevance of a cosmopolitan respect for the diversity of identities, an attitude that is very much under attack. His lecture is titled, “Politics and Polarization: The Place of Identities in Democracy.”

All faculty, students, and members of the public are welcome to attend this lecture. The event is free with no tickets required. The lecture will be followed by a public reception.

Price: Free
Sponsor: Administration
Homepage: http://www.calendar.vt.edu/index.php?calendarid=clahs
Contact: Michael Moehler
E-Mail:: moehler@nullvt.edu
for more info visit the web at:
https://ppe.liberalarts.vt.edu/category/ppe-distinguished-public-lecture/

This semester, the PPE Reading Group will discuss Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels’ Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government (2016).

Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels employ a wealth of social-scientific evidence to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters – even those who are well-informed and politically engaged – mostly choose parties and candidates on the basis of social identities and partisan loyalties, not political issues. They also show that voters adjust their policy views and even their perceptions of basic matters of fact to match those loyalties. When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents’ control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly. These empirical findings provide a powerful challenge to conventional thinking, pointing the way toward a fundamentally different understanding of the realities and potential of democratic government. Achen and Bartels conclude that democratic theory needs to be founded on identity groups and political parties, not on the preferences of individual voters.

The reading group is (provisionally) scheduled for every other Tuesday from 4-5:30pm in the conference room of the Kellogg Center (820 University City Blvd). Participation is open to students (whether you are already a PPE student or interested in becoming one) and select faculty.

Please sign up with Dan Gibbs (gibbsd@nullvt.edu) to receive your book in time to read. Enjoy free pizza and soft drinks with our discussions!

Sponsor: Administration
Homepage: http://www.calendar.vt.edu/index.php?calendarid=clahs
Contact: Dan Gibbs
E-Mail:: gibbsd@nullvt.edu
for more info visit the web at:
https://ppe.liberalarts.vt.edu/category/ppe-reading-group/