Developing Democratic Citizens with Ellie Avishai | Liberal Approaches to Diversity & Inclusion Podcast Series

In 2022 Counterweight, the organization that Helen Pluckrose founded and that was absorbed into the Institute for Liberal Values had a virtual conference on Alternatives to Diversity and Inclusion. Starting in 2025, we will be rolling out one talk a month that was presented at the conference. We sit down with the original presenters throughout 2025 to see what has changed since 2022. With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives seemingly on the chopping block, we are curious to hear what our original participants are witnessing and experiencing on the ground. Is DEI really dead or just in remission? Are there healthy alternatives to DEI that we should consider, or do we throw the baby out with the bathwater and wipe our hands clean? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.

This month Jennifer Richmond interviews Ellie Avishai. In her update to her original talk on Liberal Approaches to Diversity and Inclusion, Ellie reminds us that is always our job to be truth seekers despite which way the winds shift. And our conversation shifts from its original emphasis on DEI in the workplace to DEI in schools. In her original talk she underlines the importance of having clarity for workplace values, here we talk about clarity of purpose in our schools. So, just what is the purpose of schools? Well, the answer is complicated and varied, but if Ellie could boil it down to one thing, it would be the development of democratic citizens. The ultimate aim of education is to develop the intellectual capacity and curiosity to engage people different from oneself, and that is exactly the work she does as the Director of the Mill Center at UATX.

You can find her original conference presentation here: https://youtu.be/kGE6TsZ00mM

Podcast Notes:

Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle over Educational Goals, David Labaree, American Educational Research Journal, Vol 34, No 1 (Spring 1997) pp. 39 - 81.

The Mill Institute: https://www.uaustin.org/mill