Researching equality at work and in society in a hostile political context

Alliance Manchester Business School

A roundtable workshop exploring challenges faced by scholars working on equality, inclusion and social justice.

University Place

This workshop aims to discuss and reflect on the challenges faced by academics/researchers working on equality, inclusion and social justice in “hostile” contexts, namely those increasingly characterised by a systematic attack to freedom of research and expression. This specific event will be based on a roundtable discussion after short presentations and will consider the implications of current US politics and policies on the individual experiences of scholars, as well as for academic research more generally. It will also reflect on the emerging outcomes in terms of social inclusion and social justice.This event is organised by the Work and Equality Institute (WEI) in collaboration with the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) – both at the University of Manchester. It will be held in-person only on the 16th of July 2025 at 2.00-4.00pm (University Place 6.207). Lunch will be provided from 1.00pm upon registration. Speakers:Shamus Rahman Khan, Willard Thorp Professor of Sociology and American Studies, Department of Sociology, Princeton University. Shamus writes on culture, inequality, gender, and elites. He is the author of over 100 articles, books, and essays. He directed the working group on the political influence of economic elites at the Russell Sage Foundation, is the series editor of “The Middle Range” at Columbia University Press, and served as the editor of the journal Public Culture. He writes regularly for the popular press such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and has served as a columnist for Time Magazine. In 2016 he was awarded Columbia University’s highest teaching honor, the Presidential Teaching Award, and in 2018 he was awarded the Hans L. Zetterberg Prize from Upsala University for “the best sociologist under 40”. Nelarine Cornelius is Professor of Organisation Studies and Associate Dean for Academic Staff Development in the School of Business and Management.Nelarines’ research is in two broad areas: inequality, fairness and social justice; and international management practices in emerging and fragile economies. She conducts research with colleagues in the UK, France, Pakistan and Nigeria. Current projects focus on corporate social responsibility and social accountability, social justice and management, managerial relationships with society and democracy, and race, ethnicity and work. She is Deputy Editor of Business and Society Journal, and Associate Editor for Journal of Business Ethics.