Ruth D. Ewing '37 Social Science Lecture Series presents Dr. Susan Opotow

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Social Justice in Theory and Practice: Challenges of Inclusionary Change in Exclusionary Contexts

The scope of justice is our psychological boundary for justice. It is sensitive to socio-political change over time. When the scope of justice shrinks, the applicability of justice narrows to foster moral exclusion, negative intergroup interactions, and destructive conflict processes that can lead to the escalation of violence. When the scope of justice expands, the applicability of justice widens to foster moral inclusion, positive social interactions, and cooperative conflict resolution processes that can promote respectful social relations. This talk draws on Susan Opotow’s extensive research on the dynamics of a shrinking as well as a widening scope of justice in various historical and contemporary contexts. She will discuss these contexts as well as the challenges of fostering inclusionary change in exclusionary times.

Susan Opotow is a Professor at John Jay College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. A social psychologist, her scholarly work integrates psychological theory and research on the complexities of justice focusing on exclusionary and inclusionary change in such topics as conflict, violence, hate, and environmental and schooling conflicts. She developed and co-edited New York After 9/11, a book on the complex and conflictual efforts to repair New York City in the extended aftermath of 9/11. Susan has served as Editor-in-Chief of Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology. She was elected as President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, as Chair of the American Psychological Association (APA) Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, and as Chair of the APA Board of Educational Affairs. She is a Fellow of the APA and five of its divisions, and her contributions were honored with an APA Presidential Citation for utilizing “the lens of psychology to broaden our understanding of social phenomena” and for her teaching and service to the field.

About the Ruth D. Ewing Social Science Lecture Series

Alumna Ruth Ewing '37 (1915–2014), whose studies concentrated on social sciences while at Bennington, was also a parent of an alumnus, as well as a distinguished trustee from 1979 to 1982. In 1997, the College's trustees named the Social Science Lecture Series for Mrs. Ewing in recognition of her unstinting generosity and esteemed service to Bennington. We are deeply grateful that Mrs. Ewing and her husband James Ewing went on to support the endowed Ruth D. Ewing '37 Social Science Lecture Series throughout the rest of their lives, bringing special guest lecturers in the social sciences to Bennington College today and in perpetuity.