"This anthology--bringing together political scientists, anthropologists, historians, sociologists, economists, and journalists--provides a serious and sophisticated theoretical and historical analysis of the state of the Latin American Left. The central thematic issues are addressed, followed by a number of case studies written by the most astute radical Left observers of the contemporary setting"--
Returning seven years later to their original pieces from this landmark book, over 20 leading scholars and activists revisit and reframe their rich contributions to a burgeoning scholarship on Whiteness. With new reflective writings for each chapter, and valuable sections on relevant readings and resources, this volume refreshes and enhances the first text to pay critical and sustained attention to Whiteness in education, with implications far beyond national borders. Contributors include George Sefa Dei, Tracey Lindberg, Carl James, Cynthia Levine-Rasky, and the late Patrick Solomon. Courageously examining diverse perspectives, contexts, and institutional practices, contributors to this volume dismantle the underpinnings of inequitable power relations, privilege, and marginalization. The book’s relevance extends to those in a range of settings, with abundant and poignant lessons for enhancing and understanding transformative social justice work in education. Revisiting The Great White North? offers terrific grist for examining the persistence of Whiteness even as it shape-shifts. Chapters are comprehensive, theoretically rich, and anchored in personal experience. Authors’ reflections on the seven years since publication of the first edition of this book complexify how we understand Whiteness, while simultaneously driving home the need not only to grapple with it, but to work against it. Christine Sleeter, Professor Emerita, California State University Monterey Bay Our understanding of racial inequities in education will be impoverished unless we look deeply at White privilege, its variation in different contexts, and resistances to change. Such is the call in this important book by Lund, Carr, and colleagues, whose analyses within Canadian contexts, framed and re-framed for this captivating revised edition, will be useful to educators and scholars around the world. Read this book today. Kevin Kumashiro, Dean, School of Education, University of San Francisco; President, National Association for Multicultural Education Darren Lund and Paul Carr have given the contributors to their original 2007 text the opportunity to revisit, rethink, reconceptualize, and reframe their earlier work. The result is an interesting, invigorating, and unsettling group of chapters that challenge readers to also revisit and rethink their own ideas about Whiteness, privilege, and power .... Teachers, administrators, policymakers, and researchers will all benefit from this critical work. Sonia Nieto, Professor Emerita, Language, Literacy, and Culture College of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Lund and Carr bring together a superb collection of authors who collectively challenge readers to go beyond liberal platitudes about race ... until educators confront the political, social and economic consequences of inequitably distributed privilege, the path towards equality and freedom will remain elusive. By immersing us in the discourse of Whiteness, the essays in this book illuminate that very path. Joel Westheimer, University Research Chair & Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa
Literacy is thought to be one of the primary cultural transmitters of information and beliefs within any society where it exists. Yet, when considered as a social phenomenon, literacy is remarkably difficult to define, because its functions, meanings, and methods of learning vary from one cultural group to the next. This book compares and contrasts our understanding of literacy and its acquisition and retention. It addresses major debates in education policy today, such as the importance of 'mother-tongue' literacy programs, the notion of literacy 'relapse', and the concept of educational poverty. The author focuses on Moroccan children whose parents are unschooled, whose language is often different from that used in the classroom, and whose first instruction often involves rote religious teaching.
This book explores Shimenkan—a Miao-inhabited area in Weining County, China—and its rural society from a comprehensive and long-term perspective, drawing on research conducted by the author in the course of ten years. Located in the northwest of Weining County in Guizhou Province, Shimenkan is a multiethnic area, where, e.g., the Hans, Miaos, Yis, Huis, and Buyis live. Until the early twentieth century, it was a small mountain village; the introduction of Christianity led to significant cultural and social changes in this area. Focusing on China in the twentieth century, the book addresses the traditional culture of the Miao people, the popularity of Christianity in early modern times, the management and control by the government, the socialist reform in the period of the People’s Republic of China, and the changes following the reform and opening-up in recent years. Covering a century’s worth of history, it discusses the major historical events in Northeastern Yunnan and Northwestern Guizhou around Shimenkan and analyzes local social structures, religions, ideologies, customs, and ethnic psychologies, making it a valuable addition to the study of regional social history. The book draws on archives, literature reviews, and field surveys and pursues a multi-disciplinary approach combining history, anthropology, and other disciplines. It offers a valuable resource for researchers in history, religion, and ethnology, as well as readers interested in the spread of Christianity in the Miao-inhabited areas of southwestern China.
A lively account of the outspoken first lady during her White House years, showing how the "Silver Fox" used her rich experience in politics to master the public relations side of first ladyship with as much skill as any White House spouse.
"Paulo Freire and the Cold War Politics of Literacy is a meticulously researched study. Kirkendall offers a sweeping view of Freire's life work across three continents, from northeastern Brazil to Chile, to Harvard University and the World Council of Churches, to Guine-Bissau and Nicaragua, and back to Brazil. This book will be required reading for anyone interested in Freire and the reach of his ideas." Jerry Davila, author of Hotel Tropico: Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization, 1950-1980 --
A magnificent reckoning with the extraordinary changes engulfing the Middle East, by one of our greatest reporters on the region. Robin Wright first landed in the Middle East on October 6, 1973, the day the fourth Middle East war erupted. She has covered every country and most major crises in the region since then, through to the rise of al Qaeda and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Dreams and Shadowsis an extraordinary tour de horizon of the new Middle East, with on-the-ground reportage of the ideas and movements driving change across the region-and the obstacles they confront. Through the powerful storytelling for which the author is famous, Dreams and Shadows ties together the players and events in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, the Gulf states, and the Palestinian territories into a coherent vision of what lies ahead.
Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, high-stakes testing has become a ubiquitous feature of public school children's daily rituals. Reform advocates argue that testing leads to greater alignment of the curriculum with teaching and learning, teacher and student accountability, and in some cases, a preservation of our cultural heritage. Opponents contend that testing results in prolific cheating, higher drop-out rates, and a narrowing curriculum with emphases on teaching to the test. Moreover, some evidence suggests that a singular focus on passing the test at all costs leads to neglect in other areas including attending to students' spiritual and ethical needs as well as developing abilities to collaborate with others, communicate effectively, and innovatively solve problems. Nearly a century ago, Dewey proposed a philosophy of education addressing the needs of the whole student. He provided insights into the development of intelligence, the importance of socially useful skills, and the healthy growth of the individual. In the context of high-stakes testing and best practices, his insights may be more prescient than ever.
