An overriding concern in the teaching of literature from cultures other than the instructor's own is how to go about selecting appropriate literature. When selecting course texts, the question should be whether literary scholars write respectfully about the work. A sophomore-level Introduction to African-American Literature course has been…

The concept of technology transfer (the application of knowledge) and E. M. Rogers and D. K. Bhowmik's (1970) heterophily-homophily distinction is used to help better understand and offer ways to deal with the negative reactions of undergraduates toward foreign teaching assistants (TAs) in U.S. universities. While it is important for foreign TAs…

An overview is provided of the educational philosophies of Allan Bloom, Lynne V. Cheney, William Bennett, and Ernest Boyer, with special focus on their political underpinnings. The essay begins with an examination of the issues discussed in "The Closing of the American Mind," by Allan Bloom. Concern and disagreement is expressed about:…

A study comparing the ethnic attitudes of students engaged in three levels of French language study in an anglophone university also looks at the relationship between these attitudes and gender, socioeconomic level, and course grade aspiration. Ethnic attitudes are defined as (1) descriptions of francophones; (2) social distance, or the degree of…

This document proposes integrating multi-ethnic education and reading education in order to reach their combined basic goals, ethnic literacy and pluralistic socialization. Three guidelines are offered to assist in this integration process. First, reading materials and instruction should reflect the ethnic diversity of the United States. This goal…

This publication includes a study essay that discusses numerous ways in which the English language reflects and promotes racism. Among the topics discussed are black/white color symbolism, terms that reflect obvious bigotry, terms that reflect ethnocentrism on the part of white people, politics and terminology, and "loaded" terms that are used to…

In international business education, there has been a general acceptance of the need for a curriculum integrating humanities and business education, since international business, operating within a world environment, requires an understanding of disciplines such as law, geography, psychology, and sociology in addition to functional business areas…

The history of the Carlisle Indian Boarding School is a microcosm of 500 years of Indian policy. Established through the efforts of career military man Richard Pratt in 1879, the school symbolized the emerging view of assimilation, an important change from earlier attempts at genocide and prior militant attitudes towards the Indians. Long…

The public controversy which developed between 1896 and 1920 in the Canadian prairie provinces over the question of immigration is examined in this paper. It is shown that although many of the social, political, religious and cultural characteristics which have differentiated the prairies have been a result of ethnic diversity, the predominantly…

People's perceptions of recent changes in East/West relations determine their attitudes and affect their ability to relate to each other. Relations between nations are really relations between different images, perceptions, myths, and ideas acquired through experience. In order to square perceptions with reality, people should consider the…

Linguacentrism, or Language-centeredness in the public schools, works to the disadvantage of all non-standard speakers, but especially Indian children. Compensatory education models direct attention away from the school system itself, and place blame on the assumed "deficits" of the non-standard speaker. An examination of Navajo children's…

"Other Nations, Other Peoples", a research project of the U. S. Office of Education, studied the degree of ethnocentrism present in elementary and secondary public school students. The research design was three-way, calling for stratified samples according to county, school and students. The purpose of the study was to determine how ethnocentrism…

The Cuiva Indians of Colombia are now threatened with cultural and physical extermination at the hands of Colombian cattle herders. The Cuiva build no permanent houses and have no permanent settlements. They do not practice agriculture, obtaining their food from hunting and gathering. For more than 4 centuries after their discovery, little has…

Notes that American Indian achievements are overlooked and even specifically denied in the face of overwhelming evidence of their reality. Examines the denials of Indian originality in three specific matters that have been controversial in recent decades: medicine, the manufacture of maple syrup, and the use of fertilizer. (JHZ)

Traces the emergence of multiculturalism in Canada, determination of multicultural policy, inconsistent government efforts to recognize cultural specialties, and ethnocultural reactions encountered by immigrants to Canada. Examines Native response of embarking on local control and difficulties presented. Charges that multiculturalism policies have…