On 28th November OxTalks will move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events' (full details are available on the Staff Gateway).
There will be an OxTalks freeze beginning on Friday 14th November. This means you will need to publish any of your known events to OxTalks by then as there will be no facility to publish or edit events in that fortnight. During the freeze, all events will be migrated to the new Oxford Events site. It will still be possible to view events on OxTalks during this time.
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Universities have symbolized inclusion and social mobility since World War II, with “diversity” now firmly established as a cultural and institutional value in global higher education. However, despite its widespread presence, diversity remains an ambiguous and contested concept. Questions about whom the term encompasses and the values or benefits it offers continue to provoke debate. This paper examines the varying definitions and justifications underpinning the diversity frameworks adopted by universities in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and India. These four countries differ in their historical approaches to documenting social differences and their positions in the global ranking ecosystem, offering insights into both global and nation-specific interpretations of diversity.
Using computational analysis of text data from university websites, we explore three key themes: the prevalence of diversity across national contexts; the purposes and utilities ascribed to diversity (e.g., talent recruitment or addressing historical injustices); and how these purposes justify the inclusion of particular social groups. Finally, we reflect on the future of diversity politics in higher education amidst rising discord and backlash against inclusion efforts worldwide.