Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Group and Race in Political Science: A Dialogue between Philosophy and Psychology, PhD Course and Summer Seminar

24-26 June 2026, Aarhus University

Course description

PhD-course (3 ECTS) under the Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination (Danish National Research Foundation).

In this three-day interdisciplinary seminar, we explore the complexities of "group" and "race" by bridging metaphysical philosophy with empirical psychology, all situated within the context of political science. Traditional political science often treats racial categories and intergroup conflicts as given variables. However, to truly understand systemic discrimination and political behavior, we must break down disciplinary silos. This course brings normative and metaphysical inquiries into direct dialogue with empirical and cognitive exploration. We will ask:

How do philosophical theories of racial ontology interact with the psychological realities of human categorization?
How do individual psychological mechanisms (e.g., implicit bias and social identity) drive the codification of political institutions and shape individual behaviors?
What are the philosophical and psychological toolboxes used in current studies of group and race processing?

By comparing how philosophers (e.g., Haslanger, Mills) and psychologists (e.g., Tajfel, Banaji) approach the exact same phenomena, this course empowers students to analyze political categories from their deep conceptual roots to their concrete behavioral and institutional consequences.

Teachers: Désirée Lim (Pennsylvania State University, Associate Director of the Rock Ethics Institute and affiliate of CEPDISC, Aarhus University) & Lei Fan (CEPDISC, Aarhus University)

View course description

The full literature list is also included in the course description.

Literature Day 1: Constructing Categories: Metaphysics vs. Social Cognition

Core Question: How do philosophical theories of racial ontology interact with the evolutionary and developmental origins of social hierarchy?

Toolbox Focus: Conceptual analysis (Philosophy) vs. Evolutionary anthropology and developmental psychology (Psychology).

Readings:

Philosophy (Ontological):

Haslanger, S. (2000). Gender and race: (What) are they? (What) do we want them to be? Noûs, 34(1), 31-55. [24 pages]
Mills, C. W. (1998). But what are you really? The metaphysics of race. In Blackness Visible: Essays on Philosophy and Race (pp. 41-66). Cornell University Press. [25 pages]

Psychology (Empirical/Evolutionary):

Mattison, S. M., Smith, E. A., Shenk, M. K., & Cochrane, E. E. (2016). The evolution of inequality. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 25(4), 184–199. [15 pages]
Thomsen, L. (2020). The developmental origins of social hierarchy: How infants and young children mentally represent and respond to power and status. Current Opinion in Psychology, 33, 201–208. [8 pages]

Total mandatory pages for day 1: 72

Literature Day 2: The Nature of Prejudice: Moral Flaws or Cognitive Biases?

Core Question: Are racial animus and discrimination rooted in conscious moral failings, deep-seated affective responses (e.g., disgust), or ideologically motivated dehumanization?

Toolbox Focus: Normative ethical evaluation (Philosophy) vs. Affective and ideological measurements (Psychology).

Readings:

Philosophy (Moral/Structural):

Garcia, J. L. A. (1996). The heart of racism. Journal of Social Philosophy, 27(1), 5-45. [Selected readings: 20 pages]
Shelby, T. (2002). Is racism in the "heart"? Journal of Social Philosophy, 33(3), 411-420. [9 pages]

Psychology (Cognitive/Affective Mechanisms):

Kteily, N. S., & Landry, A. P. (2022). Dehumanization: Trends, insights, and challenges. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 26(3), 222-240. [18 pages]
van Leeuwen, F., Jaeger, B., & Tybur, J. M. (2023). A behavioural immune system perspective on disgust and social prejudice. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2(11), 676-687. [11 pages]
Merrell, W. N., Fan, L., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., & Thomsen, L. (2025). Resource possession in the mind’s eye: Ideological convergence and divergence in the perceptions of poor people. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 01461672251371787. [17 pages]

Total mandatory pages for day 2: 75

Literature Day 3: Political Realities: Institutionalizing "Us" and "Them"

Core Question: How do political institutions codify systemic oppression, and how can evidence-based behavioral interventions (e.g., intergroup contact, dignified aid) help bridge divides and reduce inequality?

Toolbox Focus: Structural justice critique (Political Philosophy) vs. Field experiments and behavioral interventions (Political Science/Psychology).

Readings:

Political Philosophy (Institutions & Oppression):

Young, I. M. (1990). Five faces of oppression. In Justice and the politics of difference (pp. 39-65). Princeton University Press. [25 pages]
Hellman, D. (2008). When is discrimination wrong? Harvard University Press. [Selected readings: 20 pages]

Empirical Political Science & Political Psychology (Behavioral Interventions):

Mousa, S. (2020). Building social cohesion between Christians and Muslims through soccer in post-ISIS Iraq. Science, 369(6505), 866–870. [5 pages]
Thomas, C. C., Otis, N. G., Abraham, J. R., Markus, H. R., & Walton, G. M. (2020). Toward a science of delivering aid with dignity: Experimental evidence and local forecasts from Kenya. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(27), 15546–15553. [8 pages]

Total mandatory pages for day 3: 58

Description of Qualifications

By participating in this course students acquire the following abilities:

To critically contrast conceptual frameworks: To understand how metaphysical philosophy and empirical psychology distinctively conceptualize, construct, and deconstruct the notions of "group", "race", and "hierarchy".
To trace the micro-to-macro pipeline: To critically evaluate how evolutionary instincts, affective aversions, and ideological mechanisms drive the codification of macro-level political institutions.
To evaluate real-world interventions: To understand how empirical behavioral science can be utilized to dismantle systemic oppression and foster social cohesion.
To master interdisciplinary "toolboxes": To familiarize participants with the distinct methodological toolboxes used in current studies—contrasting philosophical methods (e.g., conceptual analysis, normative reasoning) with empirical methods (e.g., evolutionary anthropology, affective measurement, field experiments).

Eligibility Criteria

The course is open to PhD candidates and master students in their senior year enrolled in a relevant field, e.g., Political Science, Philosophy, Public Policy, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology.

This course assumes that participants already possess foundational knowledge of social identity theory, political ideology, and core political theory debates. Rather than reviewing these established frameworks, the seminar focuses on creating an interdisciplinary dialogue that connects philosophical ontology with contemporary psychological and behavioral research.

About the Course

Contact: Lei Fan

ECTS: 3

Period: 24-26 June 2026

Level: PhD-Course

Form: Presentations by scholars and discussions

Syllabus: 205 pages

Exam: 1500 words essay

Language: English

Department: Political Science, Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination

Faculty: BSS

Location: Aarhus University, Room TBA, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark

Course Requirements and Exam

A reflection paper (of at least 1500 words) providing a detailed overview of what the participant has learned over the 3-day course.

Crucially, the paper must demonstrate the student's ability to bridge the disciplines discussed. Participants are required to select a specific political science phenomenon (e.g., immigration policy, spatial segregation, institutional racism, or voter polarization) and analyze it using both a philosophical framework (addressing normative or ontological dimensions) and a psychological mechanism (addressing cognitive or behavioral dimensions). Furthermore, students should explicitly reflect on the respective methodological toolboxes (e.g., normative critique vs. empirical data) they found most significant for their own future research and describe new questions or areas of inquiry that arise from combining these approaches.

Registration Fee

Participation fee is 995 DKK and covers:

Course fee
Dinner 24 June
Lunch and refreshments during the course 24-26 June

We will distribute a link to pay the registration fee by email.

Please notice the system only accepts payment by card (visa, master etc.) unless you are employed by a Danish institution and can provide an EAN number for an invoice.

Participants will have to make their own arrangements regarding travel and accommodation.