4. Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy.

Professor Seyla Elenhabib is the Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University and Director of its Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics. Professor Benhabib is the President of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association in 2006-07. Professor Benhabib teaches about contemporary debates concerning cultural and group rights within liberal democracies. The frequency with which these claims are heard in recent years suggests a paradigm change in contemporary politics: it is claimed that liberal individualist notions of equality and freedom are unable to accommodate demands for cultural self-expression, be they individual or collective. Often such cultural rights are voiced by groups who may themselves be illiberal vis a vis their own members. What should the liberal state do in such cases: respect collective rights for cultural self-expression or guarantee all individuals equal civil, political, and social rights?