RLF in Review: Prof. Sonu Bedi on Multicultural Dilemmas

Assistant professor of Government at Dartmouth, Sonu Bedi, joined the Rockefeller Leadership Fellows this week. Bedi teaches courses in law and political theory. For this session, entitled “Multicultural Dilemmas: Adjudicating Hard Cases,” Bedi discussed how societies must contend with those who do not ascribe to its norms. Bedi asked Fellows to consider how people should be treated if they come from distinctive, minority cultures or religions through the use of three very interesting federal court decisions regarding religious exemptions and indigenous rights as well as the recent decision by France to ban the wearing of religious symbols in public schools. Fellows worked in groups to talk about the cases and afterwards Bedi led a group discussion focused on the importance of looking beyond hard facts and encouraged Fellows to embrace inclusivity when making hard decisions.