Council on Anthropology and Education

Abstract

chat during the cash bar reception after Saturday evening's Business Meeting in San Franciscoleft agreeing with discussant McDermott's comment that if we intend to use culture, we must "Square it with the local uses of the term." Power and Justice in Schools By James Mullooly (Columbia u)The participants in the panel, "Transformational Processes in School: Issues of Power, Social Justice and Critical Pedagogy" responded to the call to face up to the "public face of anthropology." As we reconsider our position as anthropologists in society, making clear what we stand for is paramount. The panelists were able to do this by illustrating "educational processes that are transforming schools in vaxious local setting" (Martin). Topics included: teachers becoming more equal to other teachers and administrators (Weiss and Martin), responding to the needs of bilingual populations (Anderson and Lavadenz), preparing students to work against injustice (Smith and Hauser) and reducing violence in schools (Musselwhite). Although most panelists focused on transformative practices (eg, applying conflict resolution to teen violence), studying why teens participate in violence or why this is currently of interest to researchers might also prove fruitful. Problematizing notions of transformation and education in this way indexes the growing role that social justice (eg, liberation education, democratic education and critical pedagogy) plays in schoohg. It reminds us that one cannot merely analyze issues of injustice from a value-free "objective" standpoint. Knowing this, these panelists actively embody the theoretical arguments upon which their data rely. The reflexive quality of these presentations (ie, practicing social justice by describing it) became a potent response to the theme of this year's meeting. In rare moments when word and deed become one, the value of the anthropological practice of ethnography of education is undeniable. Nomination Deadlines