Republican universalism is one of the founding principles of the French Republic. Put simply, it's the notion that the collective transcends individual differences like ethnicity or religion. But many see that definition as increasingly exclusionary, even arguing that the concept contributes to the very societal ills it's supposed to prevent. Mame-Fatou Niang, Associate Professor of Francophone Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, has co-authored an essay on the topic. She joined us for Perspective.