E-Newsletter Archive

An Archive of past issues of our bi-weekly newsletter.

Our policy on publishing blog & opinion pieces

Consistent with our mission and values, as a multi-disciplinary research center that seeks to advance a world of belonging without othering, the Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) conducts research, develops narrative strategy, and supports...

Belonging from the Ground Up

This October, participants in the Othering & Belonging Institute’s conference in Louisville will have the opportunity to visit La Minga Cooperative Farm in Prospect, Kentucky. The off-site experience offers a concrete place from which to explore what...

Governing for Belonging

What does belonging in governing actually entail? This paper aims to identify concrete strategies for furthering belonging through collaborative governance, particularly for individuals in government roles who are actively seeking new ways to engage constituents more deeply than conventional, transactional forms of public engagement allow.

Podcast: Reclaiming Religious Freedom in an Authoritarian Moment

Around the world, communities and organizations are developing strategies to confront the weaponization of gender and build a future rooted in belonging and pluralistic democracy. In this special subseries of Who Belongs? from the (En)Gendering...

Podcast: Marching for Pride and a Democratic Hungary

Around the world, communities and organizations are developing strategies to confront the weaponization of gender and build a future rooted in belonging and pluralistic democracy. In this special subseries of Who Belongs? from the (En)Gendering...

An Essay on Constructive Outrage

There is no agreed upon 'start date.’ For what seems like an eternity, we have fallen witness to a constant and unprecedented attack on our democracy. It is not enough to decry the recklessness and lawlessness of the trump presidency, a spineless and sycophantic congress, and the carte blanche immunity that the nation’s highest court has granted the executive. Our nation is in the midst of a Constitutional crisis, and law schools need to adopt an attitude of 'No Business as Usual’ to offset the creeping normalization of daily democratic dismantlement and instill courage into efforts seeking to reverse the damage.

OBI forms partnership to bring belonging to AI

New " Participatory Infrastructure " initiative aims to operationalize Structural Belonging in order to realize safe, equitable, responsible, socially beneficial AI. BERKELEY: The Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) at UC Berkeley and the Global...

Are you excited about the World Cup? It’s because you belong.

At my good friend’s World Cup watch party in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, I noticed Mexican jerseys everywhere. I couldn’t stop thinking about that. Mexico and L.A., sure that part makes sense considering the relationship to the country and the city. On the television in front of us, Mexico was playing South Korea...

Rebuilding Belonging, One Conversation at a Time

For more than 15 years, Adrienne Evans has organized in some of the most politically conservative, rural communities in the United States. Through her work with United Vision for Idaho and the United Vision Project, she's helped facilitate over 100...

If You Were in Charge Podcast: The Radical Practice of Belonging Without Othering

What if the most radical idea in the world is simply that everyone belongs? In this episode of the If You Were in Charge podcast, host Sanam Naraghi Anderlini sits down with john a. powell for a wide-ranging discussion touching on his family upbringing, fears driving people to the right, popular defense of immigrants in Minnesota, public spaces as infrastructure for belonging, mental health, and more.

It's the people who keep the American Dream alive

The 2025 Supreme Court term ended last week with several landmark decisions that will shape, reshape and continue to affect our politics, our culture, and the health of our society. After his re-election in 2024, the Trump team promised to overwhelm...

Impact Story: In Houston, leaders are learning to bridge — not in theory, but in practice

Through the Bridging and Belonging Fellowship, community leaders are using bridging to reshape systems, relationships, and what becomes possible in their city.

(En)Gendering Democracy: Counter Strategies

Around the world, communities and organizations are developing strategies to confront the weaponization of gender and build a future rooted in belonging and pluralistic democracy. In this series of conversations, we speak with individuals and groups at the forefront of this work.

2025: Building bridges to a shared future

Some of the most important work happening today rarely makes headlines. This annual report captures how, in 2025, we pursued our vision to ensure that every person and community has the power to help shape the structures that shape their lives.

Explore Othering and Belonging

E-Newsletter Archive

An Archive of past issues of our bi-weekly newsletter.
Sep
29

Book Talk with Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve on Crime Fictions: How Racist Lies Built a System of Mass Wrongful Conviction

Join us on Tuesday, September 29th at Berkeley Law for a book talk with Dr. Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, professor of sociology at Brown University and author of Crime Fictions: How Racist Lies Built a System of Mass Wrongful Conviction...

Our policy on publishing blog & opinion pieces

Consistent with our mission and values, as a multi-disciplinary research center that seeks to advance a world of belonging without othering, the Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) conducts research, develops narrative strategy, and supports...