Purdue University
Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Students with disabilities: Students with disabilities must be registered with Adaptive Programs in the Office of the Dean of Students before classroom accommodations can be provided. If you are eligible for academic accommodations because you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please schedule an appointment with your instructor as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

Orientation and Philosophy

The graduate studies experience is a special case of practitioner’s professional development. Graduate students bring a wealth of personal and professional experience and practical knowledge to their graduate studies. One of my assumptions is that deliberate attempts on our part to reflect on our personal-professional-practical knowledge will render graduate experiences more meaningful. Another of my assumptions is that in collaboratively sharing reflections on our experiences, and in using them as a bridge to our developing critical understanding of readings, we can synthesize and create knowledge. An additional assumption is that sharing these experiences develops trust and community in the class. I, therefore, encourage students to draw on their personal and professional experiences in discussions, responses to readings, course papers and class projects.

I understand dialogue and writing to be essential aspects of meaning making. Therefore, this course is not designed in a lecture format. I see this course as one in which we are embarking on a journey of discovery together, an exploration of multicultural issues. I see these multicultural issues as directly connected not only to our work, but to our lives, to the communities in which we live, and to the emerging global society. On this journey we will explore our minds and hearts, challenge our assumptions, and question our beliefs. We may not always be comfortable as we go through this process. People may disagree with each other; however, it is my expectation that we will always respect one another. We will not always find answers; however, it is my hope that by being flexible and open to change, we can all grow and learn to think multiculturally. By learning to think multiculturally we can develop an orientation to diversity that will be of benefit in our lives, and in our teaching and other work. The overall orientation of the course will be towards understanding multicultural education as social justice, as an on-going developmental process, and as one in which we, individual educators and practitioners, have the power to effect and implement change.

Attendance: You are required to attend each class and complete all assignments by the due date. 

Academic Honesty: I expect, and will enforce, a strict policy of academic honesty.  Students who engage in plagiarism (from books, articles, the Internet etc.), or other forms of academic dishonesty, will receive a failing grade in this course.

Overall Course Objectives

There are three interrelated overall objectives for the course. (This framework has been adapted from Sue, Ivey & Pederson, 1996, A Theory of Multicultural Counseling and Therapy): 

• To develop awareness of multicultural issues of importance in education (and other fields) today
  
• To increase knowledge of multicultural education
  
• To develop skills in meeting the needs of diverse populations. 

This course is not a methods course, nor is it a "how-to" on multicultural education. As such, the focus is not primarily on developing skills, however, in developing awareness and knowledge we will have moved in the direction of developing the competencies we need to work with diverse populations in changing societies. Course projects are designed to develop students' skills in their particular areas of research and/or practice. 

Specific Course Objectives

• To link our personal and professional experiences to the content of the course and to directions for research if applicable.
• To develop awareness of how we are embedded in a personal, social, cultural, historical context that has bearing on our beliefs about others and on our actions.
• To increase knowledge of the ways diverse populations of students (and parents) experience the world, inside and outside the classroom, the school and the community.
• To increase knowledge of specific multicultural issues of importance to individuals in their work (e. g. language, gender, class), and to begin to think of these issues in a holistic manner.
• To develop our narrative imagination (our ability to actively empathize with others), and to develop understanding of ourselves as world citizens.
• To develop a sound philosophical, theoretical, and personal rationale for multicultural education.

Course Overview and Process

READINGS:  The readings consist of three main texts, a course packet, and a choice of cultural autobiographies. We will use Martha Nussbaum's Cultivating Humanity (1997) and study her key concepts of self-examination, world citizenship, and narrative imagination. These concepts will provide the guiding philosophical framework for the course. Next, we will discuss Vivian Paley's White Teacher (1979), and relate it to our teaching and other experiences. We will then examine Chris Carger's Of Borders and Dreams (1996). Paley and Carger focus on African Americans and Mexican Americans and related educational issues; we will also discuss the universalities of multiculturalism while we examine this work. We will examine Native Americans experience in the USA, and the immigrant experience in the USA, particularly in terms of learning a second language and culture. Articles by major theoreticians (e.g. Banks, Gay, Greene, Ladson-Billings, Nieto) will be used to come to terms with orientations to multicultural education prevalent in the field today. The final readings for the course broaden and deepen our understanding of multiculturalism through an examination of Whiteness and by reaching out to an international context. Class participants also read and reflect on a cultural autobiography. There are 5 choices of cultural autobiographies to read listed below. 

GUEST SPEAKERS: I will invite several guest speakers to come during class time to share their experience, research and writing on issues of relevance to the class. These sessions are scheduled periodically during the semester based on speakers' availability. The reading schedule will be adjusted to accommodate the speakers, therefore, the schedule listed below is flexible.

FILMS: We will view a series of films that will develop our understanding of multicultural issues in the USA and internationally. These films will be placed in the schedule as needed. 

Course Requirements
  (Detailed guidance on preparation of assignments will be provided. There are NO rubrics used.)

• Participation (15%): This grade is not based on simple attendance; it is based on active participation  each week. There will be discussions, both small group and full class, that focus on course texts, articles, and presentations. The expectation is that participants will be thoroughly prepared for class, i.e. will read all material, will thoughtfully participate in class, and will assume periodic responsibility for leadership of discussions. Discussions will be concerned with a recovery of meaning of readings, with a reconstruction of meaning in the light of interpretations based on personal and professional experiences, and with links to the broader field of multicultural education (and perhaps participants’ research interests). Participants will primarily discuss readings in small groups; we will also form a large group to discuss issues raised in small groups. There will be opportunities to discuss detailed, practical matters related to participants’ work. Full marks are given ONLY for active participation. If class participants are concerned about their participation grade, they are encouraged to contact the course instructor. 
• Reflective responses to readings (15%) Participants are required to hand in responses to selected readings three times in the semester.. The responses include all of the following: recovery of meaning (what do the authors mean, what are the key arguments), reconstruction of meaning in the light of interpretations based on personal/professional experiences (what does the work contribute to your understanding of multicultural education in the light of your experiences), and links to the broader field of multicultural education (how does the work fit with your developing understanding of the field of multicultural education). It is expected that reflective responses to readings will be a approximately five typed pages.  The due dates for these papers will be announced in class.
• Autobiographical paper (10%) (Focus on concept of self-examination.) Participants will write an autobiographical account reflecting on their place in society and examining their cultural roots. The key question to explore is "How have I come to be who I am?". Consider the influence of broad factors such as race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, geographic location, as well as personal factors. An additional question to consider is " How have my experiences of diversity influenced my identity?". The paper should be 5 to 7 pages. (Alternate modes of doing this project are possible based on prior discussion with the instructor.) These will be shared in groups as well as evaluated by the instructor. This paper is due week 4: February 3. 
• Narrative imagination paper (10%) (Focus on concepts of narrative imagination and world citizenship) Participants will read a cultural autobiography from a choice of five. These papers are not "book reports" or "summaries", but are explorations of how literature enables us to understand others and how we are connected to others in the world. The paper should be 5 to 7 pages. (Alternate modes of doing this project are possible based on prior discussion with the course instructor.) These will be shared in groups as well as evaluated by the instructor. This paper is due  week 9: March 9.
• Collaborative project (50%) Participants will engage in a collaborative multicultural research project. This may be a field-based mini-research project, a curriculum development project, or a project that utilizes course readings and other readings to discuss an issue in multiculturalism of interest to a particular group. This project will be worked on throughout the term. Some class time will be devoted to on-going preparation of this assignment, outside class time will also be required. Participants will be required to do a roundtable conference style presentation on the projects week 15 and/or 16: April 20 and/or April 27. One paper of about 15 pages, discussing the topic selected, method of investigation, understandings, and group process is to be submitted by the group by week 16: April 27, unless alternate dates are negotiated with the instructor. In addition to referencing a minimum of 6 course readings, each paper will have a minimum of an additional 10 articles and book chapters cited.

Summary of Requirements

• WEEKLY: Readings completed, participation/leadership in discussions
• THREE TIMES IN SEMESTER: Reflective reading responses
• FEBRUARY 3: Autobiographical paper due
• MARCH 9: Narrative imagination/world citizenship paper due
• APRIL 20 & APRIL 27: Collaborative project presentations
• APRIL 27: Group paper on project due

Summary of Evaluation

Participants are expected to complete all assignments by due dates.