A&S Magazine Spring 2010 Page 11

The Workshop in Politics, Ethics and Society
(WPES)-- a multi-disciplinary group of scholars
from Washington University and beyond --
meets weekly to consider thorny questions in
political theory, all related to the uses of power in
society. Over lunch, a member presents research
in progress dealing with a problem in justice,
democracy or authority. Then a stimulating,
sometimes eye-opening, discussion ensues.

One WPES member, political scientist Frank

Lovett, is working on a theory that gets to the heart
of why social domination is nearly always harmful.
As an example, he talked to the group about the
master/slave relationship. If a master is encouraging
a slave to learn and the slave is benefiting from
that help, what makes the relationship wrong?

"You can't say the slave is worse off than he

would be otherwise, because he is not," says
Andrew Rehfeld, associate professor of political
science. "You can even imagine a case in which
he is better off for being under that tutelage.
But there's still something wrong: in large part,
because this is a relation built upon domination,
with the master's will replacing the slave's."

With a grant from the Center for Ethics and

Human Values, Rehfeld started WPES in fall 2002
to discuss just such issues. From fewer than a
dozen participants, it has grown to a mailing list of
more than 250 people, with 20 to 40 faculty and
graduate student attendees at each session. The
group has also expanded to include a wide range
of disciplines: history, philosophy, anthropology,

economics, English and political science;
social work and law. Faculty from Saint Louis
University and the University of Missouri
St. Louis also drop by.

Altogether, it has become one of the top

interdisciplinary political theory efforts at any
American university, says Rehfeld. While a
handful of other schools have similar programs --
Brown, Harvard and the University of Virginia,
among others -- Washington University
began its WPES nearly a decade ago, and the
community of scholars is well developed.

At any given meeting, the group

may hear a paper that is quite
different, in tone and content,
from the one the week before.
A historian, for example,
may ask such a question
as: What did individuality
mean in the 18th or 19th
century? Comments
made by the diverse
faculty in attendance
broaden and deepen the
presenter's thinking about
the issue.

"The political scientist

will bring to the discussion
different questions than the
historian," says Rehfeld, who
directed WPES for seven
years and has recently turned

over its leadership to his colleague, Frank Lovett.
"I think this interdisciplinary perspective enriches
each other's work. We have a common sense
of purpose, but we're coming at these issues from
different angles."

This lively conversation also gives faculty a

welcome chance for regular engagement. "Scholars
work alone and tend to be very isolated," says
Rehfeld, whose own area of interest is political
representation. "This builds community like noth-
ing else that I'm affiliated with, and I think that's
very important for our intellectual development."

By stimulating scholars, the university may

benefit through improved teaching, says Rehfeld,

who directs undergraduate studies in his depart-

ment. When academics are "pumped up about

ideas," they will bring these ideas to their stu-

dents, who will think even more critically about

power, justice, education and representation.

That may encourage them, in turn, to become

better citizens and, after graduation, do

something meaningful with their lives.

Furthermore, WPES may actually foster

social change. For one thing, the schol-

ars who are involved may write editorial

pieces that advocate for a position. And some of
the participants, particularly the social work faculty,
may find ways to translate ideas into action.

"Our point is not simply to comment on the

world," says Rehfeld. "We want to move it in a
direction of keeping those things that have been
good for society and changing those that ought to
be changed. We want to do this with an eye both
to serious scholarship and maintaining our
interdisciplinary focus but also inspiring people
to take up issues and change the world around us."

WPES has been so successful that, with

funding from the dean's office and several
departments in Arts & Sciences, it is taking a step
forward. Under a 15-member advisory council,
it is growing from a workshop into a broader
initiative -- Politics, Ethics and Society -- that is
hosting its third annual conference on political
theory this spring and hopes to sponsor one or
two visiting faculty members each year.

With the help of an enthusiastic political

science major, senior Gregory Allen, WPES has
also moved onto the Internet. In a weekly blog,
the student posts a statement about the most
recent workshop, and other interested parties
add their comments.

"I have a vision for this effort," says Rehfeld.

"It's a vision about shaping ideas, doing good

intellectual work and changing and

preserving the world. As John Stuart Mill

said, we need to preserve that worth preserving

and change that worth changing. That's what we're
about: We need people to do the preservation
and the changing."

T h e a r t o f e d u c a t i o n

A Workshop in Political Theory

Power

Lunch

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