It is intended that students expand their understanding of postmodernity in general and gain deeper insight into its presence in their personal and professional lives. Students examine the sociocultural relationship between gender and education in U.S. society. Study focuses on how schools teach about gender and the ways females and males respond to differing learning contexts. Students examine contemporary feminist, postcolonial, queer, and critical race theories in the context of educational practices. Attention is given to the relations of everyday actions and the construction of subjectivity.
Students study problems facing culturally different children.
Concepts, problem-solving procedures, and attitudes that aid constructive interaction between culturally different teachers and learners are explored. Students study major philosophical writings, their relation to the roles of student and teachers, and their relation to the aims of schooling. Students develop philosophy positions and resarch a philosopher of their choice. Findings are presented to the class for discussion and analysis. Students study the field of cultural anthropology as it relates to contemporary issues in education.