Confronting the Politics of Multicultural Competence

Autor/in	Stewart, Dafina Lazarus
Titel	Confronting the Politics of Multicultural Competence
Quelle	In: About Campus, 13 (2008) 1, S.10-17 (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1086-4822
DOI	10.1002/abc.242
Schlagwörter	Student Personnel Workers; Cross Cultural Training; Cultural Pluralism; Critical Thinking; Consciousness Raising; College Students; Political Attitudes; Student Attitudes + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Interkulturelle Orientierung; Kulturpluralismus; Kritisches Denken; Bewusstseinsbildung; Collegestudent; Political attitude; Politische Einstellung; Schülerverhalten
Abstract	In this article, the author describes how she challenged her class to think critically about multicultural competence and to analyze objectively the liberal perspectives of Allan G. Johnson and conservative ideas of Dinesh D'Souza using Raechele Pope, Amy Reynolds, and John Mueller's characteristics of multiculturally competent student affairs practitioners as the baseline. The result was that conservative students felt they finally had a legitimate place in the conversation and liberal students admitted to gaining a better understanding and appreciation of the views of relatives and friends. The author believes that multicultural competence seeks to expand awareness of self and others through multiple perspectives and builds both foundational and specific knowledge bases while resisting ethnocentricism. It refines one's ability to engage in cross-cultural dialogues and situations with awareness of the challenges that may arise without resorting to attacks or retreating into defensiveness. Finally, the author believes that multicultural competence requires that students resist interpreting people, situations, and beliefs through binary "either-or" lenses that allow only two options. Being a conservative does not equal being privileged and oppressive; neither is liberalism synonymous with enlightenment and multicultural competence. Multicultural competence is not political, but it does engage us in a critical dialogue with our politics, our values, our experiences, and each other. Such engagement is necessary in order to create campuses that honor and support the transformative learning, growth, and development of all its members. (Contains 15 notes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Jossey Bass. Available from John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774. Tel: 800-825-7550; Tel: 201-748-6645; Fax: 201-748-6021; e-mail: subinfo@wiley.com; Web site: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/browse/?type=JOURNAL
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10