Invited Speaker
Professor Eric M. Uslaner
Professor of Government and Politics University of Maryland–College Park College Park MD 20742
Certificate of attendance available
Social cohesion is a multifaceted concept including generalized trust, measures of well-being such as socio-economic conditions (are people thriving, suffering, or struggling) and whether they accept diversity, and national identity (belonging to a nation and deserving its welfare benefits).
I first consider trust, moving from what constitutes trust in different scenarios, how they differ from each other, which forms of trust are most stable, and how best to measure trust. I then consider determinants of trust, specifically inequality and segregation.
Then I consider well-being and its determinants and focus on the historical role of education in shaping both trust and finally, I consider variants of well-being and their determinants. I pay particular attention to the inclusivity of trust and how feelings about identity shape politics–and how political views are shaped by how the less inclusive sense of identity affects how deserving minorities are for government programs by the majority.
About the presenter:
Eric M. Uslaner is Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland–College Park. He the author of eleven books, including The Historical Roots of Corruption (Cambridge University Press, 2017), The Moral Foundations of Trust (Cambridge University Press, 2002; Chinese translation, Chinese Social Sciences Press, 2007; Korean translation, Today\’s Books, 2014), Corruption, Inequality, and the Rule of Law: (Cambridge University Press, 2008; paperback, 2010; Chinese translation forthcoming 2018, Chinese Social Sciences Press; Japanese translation, Nippon Hyoron Sha, 2011), Segregation and Mistrust: Diversity, Isolation, and Social Cohesion (Cambridge University Press, 2012), The Movers and the Shirkers (University of Michigan Pressk 1999), The Decline of Comity in Congress (University of Michigan Press, 1993), Shale Barrel Politics (Stanford University Press, 1989) and approximately 200 articles. He is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust (Oxford University Press, 2018). He has been a consultant to the United Nations Human Development Fund and the Taihe Institute of Beijing, China. He is also a Research Associate for the Gallup Organization and the co-editor with Nils Holtug of National Identity and Social Cohesion (ECPR Press, 2021) and with Chong-Min Kim, Inequality and Democratic Poltics in East Asia (Routledge, 2019).
About Our Webinar Series
This event is part of our regular webinar sessions for social capital researchers including PhD/master students. These sessions include invited presentations from prominent scholars as well as presentations by PhD students and experts in professional practice.
For social capital researchers, these sessions are an opportunity to hear about the latest social capital research and insights from scholars working on the concept. They can be a great way to connect with people, to get advice, discuss ideas or issues, get suggestions for literature to read, or you can just listen.
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Generally, presentations can be 20 to 30 mins. The content of your presentation will depend on your research stage.