Futures of Difference

What is essentialism — and how does intersectionality challenge it? Ann Phoenix (UCL) explores social complexity and the future of difference. In this final episode, Steven Vertovec and Georg Diez discuss essentialism, intersectionality, and the psychosocial approach to identity with Ann Phoenix (University College London). They examine how simplified thinking about social categories — groupism, c...

How are mixed identities changing social categories — and what does the fastest-growing demographic mean for human diversity? Miri Song explains. In this episode, Steven Vertovec and Georg Diez explore the concept of mixity with sociologist Miri Song (University of Kent / LSE). They discuss how the dynamics of assertion and assignment shape identity, why the fiction of monoracial thinking persists...

How do colonial legacies still shape social categories today — and what does Singapore's model mean for the future? Junjia Ye explains. In this episode, Steven Vertovec and Georg Diez examine how colonial pasts continue to structure present-day social categories, with a focus on Singapore. Junjia Ye (Nanyang Technological University) discusses the CMIO model of racial management, the enforceme...

How is migration reshaping ethnic diversity worldwide — and what do demographic shifts mean for social categories? Dan Hiebert explains. In this episode, Steven Vertovec and Georg Diez discuss migration and identity with geographer Dan Hiebert (University of British Columbia). They explore how aging populations, labor market needs, and media narratives shape migration dynamics — and how demographi...

How does social categorization work — and how is right-wing populism reshaping it? Michèle Lamont (Harvard) explains. In this episode, Steven Vertovec and Georg Diez explore the evolution of diversity discourse with sociologist Michèle Lamont. They discuss moral boundaries and social categories, the backlash against diversity, destigmatization, the shifting Overton window, and how generational cha...

Why do social categories like race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality have such real impact on everyday life? Steven Vertovec and Georg Diez explore. Anthropologist Steven Vertovec (Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science (formerly the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity)) and journalist Georg Diez (author of "Anderland," former Spiegel colum...