Questions related to the CCI 2009-2010 Theme

These are just examples. Please frame others relevant to your own interests with the perspective of other disciplines in mind as the basis of a Summer Fellowship proposal.

Must a sustainable democracy deal with environmental sustainability and degradation? Which problem has priority?

How does a democracy sustain civility in discourse, while respecting authority and expertise? Can we engage in meaningful public dialogue that improves the process of collective decision making without inappropriately introducing bias?

How can democracies reconcile authority based on knowledge (“Trust me because I know more than you”) with authority based on identification (“Trust me because I’m like you”)?

How can democratic values inform constructive approaches to conflict? What would a democratically informed approach to conflict involve?

What ethical principles and moral obligations accompany the sustenance of democracy? Who protects the common good and how should these values be nurtured?

Is identity politics consistent with including of citizens of all origins in dialogues that aim at the communal good? What is the role of culture and the arts in framing identity?

Democracy's goal is participatory citizenship; capitalism's goal is prosperity. But each can be an obstacle to the goals of the other. Can the principles of democracy and those of a global market economy co-exist?

In a free market economy should we prevent greater and greater divides between the rich and poor? If so, how do we resolve the tension between a communal good and the privatization of vital resources like water, air, and soil?

What is the role of education in sustaining democracy and how are the arts and electronic media involved in the process? Should there be “political literacy?”

In an era when economic and environmental problems directly affect individual health and well being, how can we overcome the barriers to acquiring the mathematical, technical, and scientific literacy needed for rational participation?

Can a better appreciation of the art, music, and literature of different sections of society help us to better understand one another, and thus to foster true democracy?

How can we modify our own democratic structures to courage participation and broaden inclusiveness? Who can justly determine the requirements for becoming a citizen?

Does a technical and secular approach to ethics and value make more sense than a religious based ethics in a global community that respects free religious belief as a right of all individuals?