Recounts a classroom exercise in which students examine archaic ethnic slurs aimed at white Europeans (biddy, Dutch bargain). They then consider why these are no longer in use. This leads to a comparison between U.S. immigrant groups of the past and the situation of current minorities. (MJP)

Advocates teaching about the Vietnam war from a holistic, global perspective. Argues that ignorance of Vietnamese cultural history carries over from the war effort to current social studies practices. Urges reconceptualizing knowledge about Vietnam to see it as a place with cultural traditions of its own. (CH)

Presents an activity designed to assist students in examining and reflecting on their personal values. Argues that students need to know themselves to explore the values of others and to develop an open-minded perspective on the cultural values of others. (DB)

Discusses Black Americans' concern about what to call themselves and examines attempts to develop an Afrocentric point of view. Questions an automatic identification between African-Americans and Africa, citing political, historical, and socioeconomic factors that qualify assumptions of cultural continuity, and calls for continued assessment and…

Examines religious, political, social, and economic barriers to marriage between seventeenth-century Puritan New Englanders and their Algonquian neighbors. Explains Puritan anti-Indian feelings in terms of religious fanaticism and cultural exclusiveness rather than conventional racism. Contains 82 references. (SV)

Many universities promote cultural awareness by directly teaching sensitivity toward cultural diversity. Because students tend to be somewhat ethnocentric, which is not consonant with the display of culturally tolerant attitudes, multicultural education can help them acquire more tolerant attitudes. The paper describes the influence of a course in…

Tested three alternative hypotheses regarding intergroup attribution patterns derived from the ethnocentric, the asymmetrical, and the stereotype-based models of intergroup attribution. Results from 582 junior high students in Israel show that members of majority and minority groups made internal attributions for stereotype-consistent positive…

Surveys 458 adult residents of La Crosse (Wisconsin) by telephone to determine knowledge about their attitudes toward Southeast Asian immigrants (largely Hmong). Data suggest that the community is evenly divided in support of immigrants. The greatest variance is accounted for by ethnocentrism, although economic factors play a role. (SLD)

It is noted that Belgium, particularly Flemish Belgium, is opposed to European unification because of the likelihood of even greater intrusion of foreign influence into the country, especially in Brussels, and an already common negative attitude toward the spread of English. (12 references)

The dispersion of highly qualified people to many lands due to transnational employment is a new kind of diaspora. A long-term study of an international school in Japan suggests that foreign-national students may be forerunners of a kind of transcultural/transnational identity needed for the world to transcend ultranationalism and ethnocentrism.…

Tries to make explicit race/class/gender connections in an undergraduate seminar on stratification. Students learn about models of social class and mobility and ideas of inequality. Attempts to balance the syllabus by including material about different groups and a representative group of scholars. Describes classroom discussions and experiences.…

Asserts that multiculturalism is focused on the subordinate criteria of multiethnicity and multinationality and their impacts on education. Concludes that multicultural education is essential in today's world and that provisions of ethnic or national identification must be preserved within the majority culture. (CFR)

Outlines arguments and rhetorical devices used to trivialize the claim that the Iroquois system of government influenced development of American democracy. Notes controversy over inclusion of the "influence thesis" in New York textbooks. Suggests that the debate is so heated because it involves a new intellectual model in which former…

Reports on a European teachers' seminar. Points out the difficulties of making generalizations about history instruction in European nations. Concludes that it is essential to emphasize societal aspects that bind people together and that national history should be taught in a European and global context. (CFR)

Efforts to ban the "Little House on the Prairie" series because of racist depictions of American Indians seem a knee-jerk reaction to a complex text. Teachers can use the books to develop an appreciation of American Indians and their history and to promote understanding of the disparate and conflicting attitudes of the nation when the…