Date/Time
Thursday
5 Mar 2026
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Location
470 Stephens Hall
Event Type
Colloquium
Alma Steingart
Assistant Professor of History, Columbia University
In the second half of the twentieth century the theory of political representation bifurcated. On the one hand were political theorists, who continued to debate the concept of representation, its compatibility with democratic theory, and how it intersects with minority rights. On the other hand, mathematicians, statisticians, and quantitative political scientists understood representation in a narrower sense. Many were motivated by ideas about fairness, but only insofar as these ideals could be expressed in the language of mathematics. This talk examines the diverging paths of political representation and explores some of its implications.
