Contested Diversity, Antiracism(s) and Transformative Change – Theories, Methods and Practices from International Perspectives

Social movements and anti-racist actors have been criticizing power hierarchies which privilege some (combination of) identities over others for many years. In particular the recent wave of anti-racist mobilization has put pressure on both public and private organizations to acknowledge diversity, intersectional marginalization and take steps to increase inclusion and fight discrimination and racism. As a consequence, diversity has become both a catch all buzzword in private and public organizations throughout the Global North and a real stimulus for inclusive change. However, how diversity should be addressed and included in organizational DNAs are highly contentious topics. What is captured with terms like “diversity;” “intersectionality” or “antiracism”? Whose demands and what groups and social positions should be included? How are the different concepts connected and linked to political agendas of anti-discrimination and anti-racism? And how can the different concepts be measured and quantified? All of these questions are highly contested among academics, activists, different communities, political institutions, and the public at large. Often this is due to differences in political and stakeholder interests, the interplay of different diversity ideologies, norms and attitudes on minority inclusion, the recognition of injustices, and/or the impact of (structural) racism.

This winter school therefore explores key questions, theories, and novel methodological approaches in researching diversity and (anti)racism in (public) organizations. It elaborates the following questions: How can we conceptualize diversity and who should get a voice in that process? How can we quantify and conduct participatory and inclusive research on diversity in organizations? How is diversity politics linked to anti-discrimination and anti-racism? What are the tensions and contradictions between these different concepts? How do we create policy relevant knowledge, contribute with empirical evidence and what are productive ways to communicate it?

Course leader

Prof. Dr. Sabrina Zajak
Dr. Annett Graefe-Geusch
Dr. Elias Steinhilper

Target group

M.A students and PhD students of the social sciences. Interested students need to submit a short abstract (5-8 sentences) stating their interest to contested.diversity@dezim-institut.de. The winter school will take place at the DeZIM Institute in Berlin. Space is limited to 25 students. Applications need to be submitted until November 30th.

Course aim

The winter school seeks to address theory, methods and transfer of research on contested diversity. It combines different teaching formats including lectures, group tasks and individual exchange with lectures, including both national and international speakers. The methods
section introduces mixed-methods research designs including survey designs and qualitative interviews for researching diversity and anti-discrimination. The winter school also taps into the unique resources of the DeZIM institute to learn how to conduct high quality evidence based policy recommendations for public and private actors. Exchange with practitioners will be organized and the perspective of refugees will also be included. At the end of the winter school each participant is expected to submit a 2-page long research proposal on topics of the
winter school.

Credits info

tba. (Presumably 5 ECTS)

Fee info

EUR 0: -