About this Event
Join us at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Thursday, February 26 when David Oppenheimer comes to the store to present his new book The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea. David will sign books after the presentation.
to order a copy of The Diversity Principle.
“David B. Oppenheimer has performed an amazing feat of intellectual detective work by tracing the origins of the concept of diversity in university admissions—and thereby showing that diversity has always been essential to the liberal tradition.”—Nicholas Lemann, dean emeritus, Columbia Journalism School, and author of Higher Admissions: The Rise, Decline, and Return of Standardized Testing
As a war on diversity upends government, corporate, and education policies, the history of the idea of diversity has never been more important. In this contrarian book, David B. Oppenheimer, a diversity skeptic turned admirer, chronicles how diversity became a foundational value of higher education over the last two hundred years, how it evolved as it was adopted in commerce and science, and the implications of the current backlash.
The diversity principle—the idea that people with different backgrounds, experiences, identities, and viewpoints produce better work by engaging with one another—was a core tenet of the first modern research university, founded in Germany in 1810. It was the inspiration for John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, a touchstone of academic freedom; a hallmark of Charles Eliot’s remaking of Harvard in the late nineteenth century to promote the “clash of ideas”; and a foundation of the twentieth century efforts toward equality of Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Pauli Murray. In telling the story of the diversity principle through the experiences of these and other remarkable thinkers, Oppenheimer argues for affirming diversity as a central value of education and an essential ingredient for a robust intellectual and political culture.
DAVID B. OPPENHEIMER is a clinical professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley. He serves as the Faculty Co-Director of the Pro Bono Program, and the Director of the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-discrimination Law. Professor Oppenheimer is the author of The Ubiquity of Positive Measures for Addressing Systemic Discrimination and Inequality, a co-author of the casebook Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law, and a co-editor of Comparative Perspectives on the Enforcement and Effectiveness of Antidiscrimination Law. His co-authored book, Whitewashing Race, won the 2004 Benjamin L. Hooks outstanding book award.
THIS EVENT is free but registration is requested. Registration ends at 6:00 pm on February 26.
BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.
DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.
WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.
WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.
PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.
OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM, please plan accordingly.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Mrs Dalloway's, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, United States
USD 0.00
