Understanding Self And Others In The Postmodern World

Understanding Self and Others in the Postmodern World is unlike most books directed at giving people insight into themselves in that it is addressed to those who want to think about their lives, relationships with others, and how Western culture has arrived at the Postmodern World. This book examines seven different worldviews that have become dominant for periods of time in the history of Western culture. The author explains that, although all worldviews share the same structure and characteristics, they vary markedly in their contents. Further, a worldview molds those entering it after its own image. Those readers: (1) who identify their own assumptions about the nature of reality, what it means to be a human being, and the truth, will gain insight into themselves. And, identifying the assumptions held by others on these matters will give the reader insight into them. The problem in the Postmodern World is that we live and work with people who live in these different worlds. That situation has invited disagreement and conflict which, unresolved, has led to the chaos that is characteristic of our time. The solution before the nations of the West is that each citizen must grant to all others the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness he or she claims for him or herself.

Taking issue with contemporary trivialisations of the self, this book traces a course of development from the early pragmatists to contemporary constructionist considerations.

This special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in peace education reform. School reforms based upon principles of peace education have in common a belief in the power of peace to create a positive learning climate in schools and to address the problems of violence in the broader culture. A peace education strategy for improving school productivity rests upon three main assumptions: 1. Violence contributes to the poor performance of many students. 2. Adults in school settings need to address problems created by violence in order for schools to improve. 3. Anxieties that make it hard for students to master traditional subject matter can best be addressed by a comprehensive peace education strategy that makes school a safe place to learn and provides students with knowledge about alternative nonviolent ways to resolve conflicts. Peace building reforms go beyond responding to immediate forms of violence that may be overwhelming students and teachers to promoting positive images of peace through the study of nonviolence. Written by established experts in the field of peace education from six different countries, this collection of articles not only represents a wide variety of peace education practices from different corners of the globe, but it also represents varying academic perspectives. Educators can play a key role in helping human societies progress toward more sustainable ways of living by implementing peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peace building strategies in school programs. Peace education reforms point to a new way of thinking about schools as vehicles for promoting a peace culture through insights offered by nonviolent theory.

"A well written and stimulating excursion into postmodern education. Parker's challenge to critical educational theory can, in the long run, only help the left rethink and deepen its political project." - Peter McLaren, University of California, Los Angeles. This is a book about two stories of education. In one story there is a vocabulary of means, efficiency, bureaucracy, inspection and science; in the other, one of autonomy, democracy, emancipation and action research. One is the story of positivist managerialist approaches to education, the other is the story of reflective teaching. This book displaces both of these stories. By applying the techniques of deconstruction, Stuart Parker overturns the assumptions common to both of these positions and, in doing so, jettisons some widely cherished beliefs about education, autonomy and rationality. Moving beyond current debates, this book articulates a new manifesto for education in postmodernity and highlights the implications for educational practices and institutions.

We are not yet at a moment that could be called postmodernity, and may never be, says leading sociologist Ben Agger in his newest book. Modernity is still our history, our framework. Nevertheless, Agger shows how postmodern theory can enhance understanding of the self, everyday life, and culture in the early 21st century. Changes in culture, commerce, and communications, such as the internet, require 'postmodern' modes of knowing. Agger borrows from French postmodern theory and from the Frankfurt School's critical theory in addressing the utility and shortcomings of postmodern theory for understanding identity, culture, race, gender, and power. He explains postmodern theory clearly, borrowing creatively from postmodernism in order to theorize about daily life and social structures heavily reliant on information technologies like the internet and the Web.

This book provides a new introduction to the study of Christian spirituality, exploring it through the human sciences and ranging from philosophy and hermeneutics to psychology, history, sociology and anthropology. Systematic and progressive, it introduces the key approaches and shows how they relate to the understanding, study and practice of spirituality. Covering a vast amount of ground - from traditional themes such as images of God, spiritual direction and pilgrimage to more contemporary issues, such as place and space, cyberspace and postcolonialism - the author takes an ecumenical, inclusive stance, allowing the book to be used in a wide variety of courses and across denominations.

Collection of essays by Australian and English art educators discussing the transition from modernist to postmodernist art education. Teachers reflect on changes in their own teaching, and discuss how they introduce students to contemporary art and plan a curriculum. Includes photos and references. Simultaneously published in PDF and paperback formats. Editor is Associate Professor in arts education at the University of Melbourne and is an honorary life member of the Australian Institute for Art Education.