Michèle Lamont, Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, has provided influential scholarship on inclusion and inequality. Her visit to Geneva was the occasion for in-depth exchanges with faculty, students and the public.
Her recent book Seeing Others: How Recognition Works and How It Can Heal a Divided World (Simon & Schuster, January 2023) explores how we evaluate social worth across societies, the role of cultural processes in fostering inequality, and the related symbolic and social boundaries. Professor Lamont presented the book on 6 May at a public lecture co-hosted by the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy and the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy (GCP).
In her keynote, Professor Lamont traced the genesis of her book to the Trump presidency and the resulting societal ruptures, including the travel ban and the rise of dignity-based movements such as Black Lives Matter, MeToo, and MAGA. She examined how group boundaries harden or shift, and what cultural narratives can offer more inclusive visions of belonging. She argued for the need to cultivate new “recognition repertoires,” supported by both grassroots movements and institutional actors like philanthropies.
The ensuing panel was moderated by Professor Graziella Moraes Silva, Co-Director of the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, and Professor Duvoux, Director of the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy. It featured Professor Marie-Laure Salles, Director of the Geneva Graduate Institute, and Karin Jestin, Director of Edmond de Rothschild Family Philanthropy.
Professor Salles reflected on the erosion of social cohesion and asked how communities can be rebuilt in an era of structural solitude. She explored how recognition, while a cultural process, must be backed by structural change. Ms Jestin shared examples of narrative transformation in philanthropy, including coalitions like Break Free from Plastic and La Collective. The discussion emphasized the importance of connecting thought and action to foster inclusion and democracy.
On the following day, Professor Lamont led a closed workshop with doctoral students. Ten students affiliated with the Graduate Institute’s Department of Anthropology and Sociology, the Department of Sociology at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE) at UNIGE presented their work and received feedback. Professor Lamont also offered insights into her intellectual trajectory and shared mentoring practices grounded in openness, rigour, and care. Emphasizing the importance of symbolic boundaries in structuring inequality, she encouraged students to navigate the academy critically and creatively, reminding them that recognition begins with being seen, and seeing others.
