ERIC Number: EJ953055
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0729-4360
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Available Date: N/A
Rethinking the Concept of "Western"
Cousin, Glynis
Higher Education Research and Development, v30 n5 p585-594 2011
In this article, I propose that the west/non-west dualism sets limits on our thinking about internationalisation of the curriculum. While this dualism and that of the west/the rest offer some heuristic capacity to surface issues of imperial power and hegemonic grip, I suggest that it has congealed into a grand narrative that inhibits our explorations of global divisions. I discuss the conceptually interdependent notions of orientalism and occidentalism and their view of the incommensurability of western and non-western cultures. I relate this discussion to conceptions of western and non-western pedagogies and associated concepts of knowledge generation. I point to the importance of a concept of the west and of pedagogic cultures that admits a history of complexity and connectivity.
Descriptors: Instruction, Culture, Christianity, Indigenous Populations, Foreign Countries, Western Civilization, World Views, Cultural Influences, Non Western Civilization, Cross Cultural Studies, European History, History, Religion Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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