‘Fragmentation, Inequality, and the Search for Order: Rethinking Business and Society in a Divided World’
This event has now finished.
CL/A/103 - Church Lane Building Boardroom, Church Lane Building, Campus West, University of York (Map)
Event details
Across the globe, societies are being reshaped by widening inequality, political polarisation, environmental crises, and the return of violent conflict. These interlinked challenges are generating new forms of social, economic, and geopolitical fragmentation that threaten both stability and trust. This interdisciplinary workshop brings together five scholars from the University of York’s School for Business and Society to explore how academic research and teaching can illuminate—though not necessarily resolve—these fractures.
The discussion recognises that meaningful contributions to “grand challenges” often arise not only from direct policy engagement or short-term impact, but also from fundamental research that reframes the questions we ask about power, inequality, and order. Likewise, teaching grounded in rigorous theories and critical concepts can equip students with the intellectual tools to navigate and respond to complex realities.
Drawing on perspectives from economics and management, social policy, political science, and sociology, the workshop examines how structural inequalities, social fragmentation, and geopolitical disorder intersect—and what this means for the role of universities in a turbulent world. By connecting theoretical inquiry with public relevance, it seeks to reimagine how a School rooted in both business and social policy can sustain reflective scholarship while preparing future leaders to act with insight and responsibility.