Seeing Others: How Recognition Works and How It Can Heal a Divided World
Fall 2024, Simon & Schuster/One Signal (USA) and Penguin (UK)
Acclaimed Harvard sociologist, Michèle Lamont, makes the case for reexamining what we value to prioritize recognition—the quest for respect—in an age that has been defined by growing inequality and the obsolescence of the American dream.
In this capstone work, Lamont unpacks the power of recognition—rendering others as visible and valued—by drawing on nearly forty years of research and new interviews with young adults, and with cultural icons and change agents who intentionally practice recognition—from Nikole Hannah Jones and Cornel West to Michael Schur and Roxane Gay. She shows how new narratives are essential for everyone to feel respect and assert their dignity.
Decades of neoliberalism have negatively impacted our sense of self-worth, up and down the income ladder, just as the American dream has become out of reach for most people. By prioritizing material and professional success, we have judged ourselves and others in terms of self-reliance, competition, and diplomas. The foregrounding of these attributes of the upper-middle class in our values system feeds into the marginalization of workers, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and minority groups. The solution, Lamont argues, is to shift our focus towards what we have in common while actively working to recognize the diverse ways one can live a life. Building on Lamont’s lifetime of expertise and revelatory connections between broad-ranging issues, Seeing Others delivers realistic sources of hope: By reducing stigma, we put change within reach.
Just as Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone did for a previous generation, Seeing Others strikes at the heart of our modern struggles and illuminates an inclusive path forward with new ways for understanding our world.
Highlights of Coverage of Seeing Others
For more on talks, see the Events page. For more on interviews and articles, see the News page.
Events
Seeing Others book talk, NYU Institute for Public Knowledge, NYC, September 2023
“Seeing Others: How to Redefine Worth in a Divided World”, The World Bank, Washington, DC, October 2023
“Seeing Others: How to Redefine Worth in a Divided World”, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, March 2024
March 28, 2024: “Meet The Author” book event, United Nations Bookstore, NYC, March 2024
“Ideas At Ford Author Event”, in conversation with Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation, NYC, April 2024
Interviews
“Let’s not be strangers” — Interview with Christy DeSmith, The Harvard Gazette
“A Few Questions for Michèle Lamont on her new book about the power of recognition, Seeing Others” — Interview in the Russell Sage Foundation Blog, 2023
“Dignity Matters As Much As Material Needs: Michèle Lamont on Recognition Claims and Understanding American Politics” — Interview with Caitlin Zaloom, Public Books, 2023
Podcasts
“Episode 67 - Toward a Society of Shared Recognition” — Conversation with Woody Powell, Human Centered Podcast, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, 2023
“Recognition, Dignity, and Worth” — Interview with Brian Lehrer, WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show, 2023
“Michele Lamont – ‘Seeing Others’” — Interview with Kelly Leonard from Second City’s “Getting to Yes, And…” Podcast, 2023
“A Conversation with Michèle Lamont on Seeing Others” — Interview with Marc Lamont Hill, TheGrio
“Illuminating an Inclusive Path Through Recognition” — Conversation on the Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast, 2023
Selected Reviews
Symposium on Michèle Lamont's Seeing Others: How Recognition Works – And How It Can Heal a Divided World, Special edition of Ethnic and Racial Studies 47 (13). Editor: John Solomos. Contributors: Lorenza B. Fontana, Tiffany Joseph, Ali Meghji, and Ann Morning.
JPB President’s Letter: Causes of the Democracy Crisis, Connecting Seeing Others in the context of the foundation mission, JPB Foundation.
Media Coverage and More
Listed as one of “The 8 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 That You Need To Read in 2024” — Summer Loomis, Book Riot, Jan 18 2024
“The Best Scholarly Books of 2023” — OpEd on the best book of 2023, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 5 2024
“Copy-and-Paste: How Allegations of Plagiarism Became the Culture War’s New Frontier” — Mention in article by Angelina J. Parker and Neil H. Shah, The Crimson. May 23 2024
“Brand Biden vs. Brand Trump: The Power of Empathy in a Story of Brand Decline” — Mention in article by Steven Naert, Allyson Leavy, and Gosia Burakowska, IPSOS Views, April 2024
The Secret to Flourishing Employees: Recognition in the Workplace” Inc. Magazine by Angélica S. Gutiérrez, April 11 2024
“This Women’s Day, let’s talk about masculinity” — Mention in article by Shrayana Bhattacharya, The Indian Express, March 8 2024
“Als verlies van status dreigt, klampen mensen zich vast aan nationalisme (When the loss of status looms, people cling to nationalism)” — Interview in de Volkskrant newpaper, Netherlands, January 9 2024
“Michèle Lamont: ‘L'enjeu politique aujourd’hui est de donner de la valeur aux gens’” —L’Echo, Brussels, Belgium, December 4 2023
“Learning to see the worth of others: Michèle Lamont and the social importance of recognition” — OpEd review by Matthew Wade, on ABC Australia, September 25 2023
“I’m Still Thinking About The Roman Empire. We All Should Be.” — mention by Joshua David Stein, Fatherly blog, September 26 2023
When Did ‘Wholesome’ Become a Gen Z Compliment?” — mention by Sadiba Hasan, The New York Times, May 11 2023
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