Undoing the Myopia of Western Education: Looking for Cosmopolitan Curricula on Political Trauma

• In Event: Roundtable Session 45
  In Roundtable Session: Confluential Moments in Curriculum Studies: Cosmopolitanism, Masculinity, and Critical Literacy

Abstract

Students may gain a globalized perspective on political trauma in order to develop a sense of empathy and responsibility to populations beyond their own. The author looks to Howard Gardner’s ‘respectful’ mind, one of his ‘five minds of the future’ (2008) that can be seen as a guide for a globalized curriculum, as a frame for political trauma instruction. The ‘respectful mind’ calls for the student to appreciate the differences among human beings and their cultures. However, the ‘respectful mind’ is not adequate for a cosmopolitan curriculum on political trauma, and thus the author makes a turn to Judith Butler to determine the path towards education for equality. The paper concludes with suggestions for building such a curriculum.

Author

• Jennifer Job, Oklahoma State University