American politics requires candidates to separate “us” from “them,” motivating people to look for differences rather than commonalities. Dr. David C. Wilson, dean of the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Professor of Public Policy, argues that polarization across a host of dimensions—including racial, gender, partisan, religious, and ideological groupings—results from what people want from candidates more so that who candidates are.
Co-sponsored by Critical Race and Ethnic Studies.