A central issue in the “culture wars” that characterize contemporary American politics is how sports ought to be organized: whether and how sports should be sex-segregated and, in particular, who should be included in women's sports. This invites further questions, including whether we ought to have a separate category of women's sports to begin with, what values competitive sports currently embody and advance and if we might have sports that aim at different values, and what kind of knowledge about women and their bodies is emerging (or not) from sport science and medicine. The Civil Society Initiative at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to present a public symposium featuring four WashU faculty: Zack Bowersox (Political Science), Marina DiMarco (Philosophy), Ophelia Vedder (Political Science), and Lucy Vollbrecht (Philosophy). We’ll have lightning presentations from our four panelists about their research, followed by discussion with the audience.

All are welcome; please RSVP if you plan to attend.

This event is sponsored by the Frick Initiative and the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.