Notions of in/equality lead to some of the most urgent problematics human communities face: Are, as the Enlightenment proclaimed, all of us equal in rights and potential? Or, as George Orwell put it in his famous satire of totalitarianism, are some of us “more equal than others”? How have we represented or treated those we understand as equals or non-equals? And how do in/equalities relate to questions of distribution? Are the disparities we see around us the just rewards of greater ability and effort, or the unfair outcomes of structural imbalances of power? Can we guarantee fair access to opportunities, and should we even try? And who ought to be deciding our answers to these fundamental questions? The essay project in this course will focus on the topic of in/equality in education, drawing on recent work in the humanities and social sciences. The research report allows you personalize the theme by researching the causes, consequences, and prospects of an in/equality which affects or interests you.

• Teacher: Yan Overfield Shaw