The Passions of Pluralism Multiculturalism and the Expanding Community

Abstract

Changing demographies and the new immigrations are making the phenomenon of pluralism inescapable in this country. At once, what is recognized as an erosion of community requires us to find ways of reconciling a newly acknowledged diversity with a Deweyan notion of a "Great Community." Using imaginative works as well as philosophic and ethnographic books as texts, this article explores the significance of heeding multiple voices silenced over the years, of making them part of the ongoing "conversation" that distinguishes our culture. This entails an incorporation of visions seldom tapped before; it entails a recognition of exclusions and deficiencies long denied, a discovery of ways to fill the voids and in some fashion to repair. Finally, seeking a regard for distinctiveness as well as a reaching toward connectedness, I look for opportunities for concrete engagements, for imaginative efforts to cross the distances and look through diverse others" eyes.

Discursive geographies in science: space, identity, and scientific discourse among indigenous women in higher education

“…As you suggest, the legitimacy of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), now acknowledged by the AAAS, could potentially be undermined in the process of assimilation, that is, the process of using Euro-science narratives to legitimize non-European narratives. Instead, many scholars (i.e., Greene 1993;Mueller 2007) would emphasize the importance of upholding cultural and eco-pluralism. It is for this reason that I believe it is important to resolve the tensions in Carol's work associated with ''both/and'' and ''either/or'' logic.…”

Life in the foothills of curriculum

“…Yet, one of those interesting areas that I am privileged to think about right now is multiculturalism. JoAnn Phillion and Ming Fang He, and before them Carola Conle, long-term members and co-ordinators of my research team in Toronto, carried me into these intellectual waters where I discovered exhilarating writers like Nussbaum (1997) and Taylor (1994) and rediscovered the imaginative writing of people like Greene (1993) and Hollingsworth (1994). In our new book on narrative inquiry, I had a chance to trace my personal relationship to other cultures through re¯ecting on my relationship with Ming Fang He, who appeared out of the deepest reaches of China to come and study with me, and Long Him who ran a general store in the nearest town to the Connelly ranch.…”

Democratic Development and Prospects for Citizenship Education: Theoretical Perspectives on Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Greene (1993Greene ( , 1988 sees the role of citizenship education as a freeing and liberating enterprise, and not as an alienating practice that nourishes the status quo. Greene's perspective in the matter is reflective of a number of educational researchers (see Freire, 1970Freire, /1993Freire, , 1985Giroux, 2001Giroux, , 2000Giroux, , 1989McLaren, 1997McLaren, , 1995 who see schooling as a potential transformative agent that challenges social inequities, and that leads to a more just and inclusive society.…”