Partisan Polarization

Getting Started

Toxic partisan polarization is one of the primary threats to functioning democracies around the world. Entertainment can play an important role in reducing intergroup hostility and bias, humanizing partisan “others,” and shifting social norms around how we engage across lines of difference. We've assembled a number of resources that help creatives bridge partisan divides and foster civic cohesion while telling the stories they want to tell.

The resources here are provided by the Center for Entertainment & Civic Health (launching in 2021). The center harnesses the power of storytelling and entertainment media to reduce toxic polarization and foster civic cohesion in America.

March 25, 2021

Indirect Contact and Prejudice Reduction: Limits and Possibilities

Brown, Rupert and Paterson, Jenny (2016) Indirect contact and prejudice reduction: limits and possibilities. Current Opinion in Psychology, 11. pp. 20-24. ISSN 2352-250X This version is available from Sussex Research
March 25, 2021

Getting the message across: Using media to reduce racial prejudice and discrimination

The authors particularly wish to thank the following people for their advice: Professor Benjamin Bowling (King’s College, London); Professor Howard Ehrlich (The Prejudice Institute, Washington D.C. USA)