Dr. Molly McGrath, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Assumption College, to give a lecture on identity politics.

Why was groundbreaking lesbian tennis champ Martina Navratilova booted by an LGBT athletics group? Why did Jussie Smollett want people to think he’s a hate-crime victim? Why did Rachel Dolezal want people to think she’s black? What type of authority or expertise do trans* activists have when speaking about the nature of sex and gender?

There is something sacred about suffering. One way we can understand “identity politics” is by noticing the way people talk and the roles they are given when discussing oppressed groups. People are forced to symbolize their demographic categories, and members of oppressed categories are granted a special status rooted in the sacredness of their groups

Hosted/sponsored by Political Science
Co-sponsors:
Dean of Social Sciences Office
St. Benedict's Institute
Philosophy Department
Dean of Arts and Humanities Office
Markets and Morality