The Politics of Identity

Diversity policies and programs have become commonplace across the United States, from multinational companies to colleges and universities. Some scholars are beginning to question who benefits from these policies. Among them is Walter Benn Michaels, professor and chair of the Department of English at the University of Illinois, Chicago. An iconoclast in his field, Michaels published The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality (Metropolitan Books) last year. He met me at his UIC office, his throat sore from speaking engagements.