Durham Castle Lecture Series
The Durham Castle Lecture Series is devoted to bringing high-profile speakers to Durham who can contribute to academic and public discussion on issues of global significance.
The presenters have all made an outstanding contribution to their fields. The series is made possible by a generous gift from Santander Universities, and the purchase of additional equipment for the Great Hall was supported by the generous donations of Castle alumni.
Videos are reproduced here by the kind permission of the Master.
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Professor Christian Joppke
Wednesday 17th January 2018
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Durham Castle Lecture - Professor Christian Joppke, 'Is Multiculturalism Dead?'
Christian Joppke intriguingly argues that, beyond the ebb and flow of policy, liberal constitutionalism itself bears out a multiculturalism of the individual that is not only alive but necessary in a liberal society. Through a provocative comparison of gay rights in the United States and the accommodation of Islam in Europe, he shows that liberal constitutionalism constrains majority power, requiring the state to be neutral about people's values and ethical commitment. It cannot but give rise to multiple ways of life or cultures, as people are endowed with the freedom to embrace them. Accordingly, impulses toward multiculturalism persist, despite its political crisis, but with a new accent on the individual, rather than group, as the unit of integration.
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