Racism, sexism and homophobia are likely prejudices held by even the most open-minded of us, a distinguished Harvard Professor said Thursday.
A group of scholars have convened at UW-Madison this week to address discrimination in America.
The conference, entitled \Looking Toward the Future: Discrimination and Prejudice in the 21st Century,"" looks to bring social psychologists from across the country to discuss progress in understanding the nature of prejudice.
""One of our biggest hopes is that we will be able to share with students, faculty, and the community information concerning what our science is revealing about the nature of prejudice,"" UW-Madison psychology professor Patricia Devine said.
Thursday night's opening session included the keynote address given by Harvard Professor Mahzarin Banaji, who spoke about the underlying causes of bias. Banaji spoke about the unconscious ways in which we carry bias.
""Change is real and true in the sense of our conscious attitudes and beliefs, but that doesn't mean that there are not underlying notions that may influence our behavior in certain ways,"" Banaji said.
The lecture was the first of a four-day conference that will continue through Sunday morning in the Memorial Union. Professors and graduate students from UW-Madison as well as schools from across the country will be tackling issues ranging from the psychological perspectives on inter-group relations to the social contexts they imply.
As a part of the session, students are invited to attend a roundtable discussion with the speakers each day.
""People will be able to engage in conversation and dialogue with the speakers. My hope is that not only will they learn about the issue, but we will also learn something from those who attend??-the people who are dealing with these issues in their everyday lives,"" Devine said.
""I believe the issue of prejudice is probably one of the most important issues today and needs to be recognized as such,"" UW-Madison sophomore Laura Sheets said. ""This topic is very intriguing and I'm planning on coming back.""
Banaji was optimistic about the progress society has made in dealing with discrimination. ""If a person wishes to break the associations the world makes for them, they can consciously make that choice,"" Banaji said. ""In the same way you can improve your teeth by brushing every day, you can create change by makings an effort to break free from bias in your everyday life.""
For more information regarding the event, students can visit www.wisc.edu/prejudiceconference.
