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A “ Cultural Other ” in Education: Unpacking Other-ness

A “ Cultural Other ” in Education: Unpacking Other-ness. Magdalena Rostron Ph.D. Candidate Manchester Institute of Education, SEED, The University of Manchester. Rough outline. Translations and layers of meaning Discourses and interpretations of the Other: general historical background

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A “ Cultural Other ” in Education: Unpacking Other-ness

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  1. A “Cultural Other” in Education:Unpacking Other-ness Magdalena Rostron Ph.D. Candidate Manchester Institute of Education, SEED, The University of Manchester

  2. Rough outline • Translations and layers of meaning • Discourses and interpretations of the Other: general historical background • Useful/usable references (e.g., Bauman; Said; Holliday; Palfreyman; Buber; Gurevitch) • Who is my“cultural Other”? • Areas of tension (students vs. teacher, students vs. students, “us” vs. “them”) • Areas of dialogue (curiosity, trust, commonalities, relationship building)

  3. L’Étranger in other languages • L’Étranger = The Outsider, Alien, Stranger • Other – obcy, nieznany, tajemniczy, niepojęty, niezbadany, niemiły, trudny, oporny, cudzy, nietutejszy, zagraniczny, nieznajomy, osadnik, traveller, gość, podróżny • Literatura obca, obce języki, obce kraje • Alien => Other => Another OTHERNESS HOSTILITY STRANGENESS CURIOSITY

  4. Discourses of otherness “Us” vs. “Them” • Marxism => class struggle + economic conflict of interests • Colonialism/imperialism => races + cultures • Gender => male domination vs. female discrimination; different sexual orientations • Religion => inter-/intra-religious; secularism vs. religion • Random “social” groupings => in-/out –groups • Personal => peer or family acceptance/rejection

  5. Some interpretations of the Other Alienated working class – K. Marx, The Communist Manifesto (1848) Woman as the Other – S. de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1949) Otherised culture – E. Said, Orientalism (1978) English and other languages – e.g., A. Holliday; D. Palfreyman; A. Pennycook; J. Edge; etc. Overcoming otherness – M. Buber, Between Man and Man (1947) + E. Levinas Curiosity about the Other – Z. D. Gurevitch

  6. What’s useful to me? • Said (Orientalism) • Bauman (mutually exclusive social groups) • Holliday (negative stereotypes) • Palfreyman (English language programme) • Buber (spiritual dimension of dialogue; embracing otherness) • Gurevitch (symbolic interactionism; strangeness facilitating understanding)

  7. My “Cultural Other”: context Experiencing education as a cultural Other: Qatari students on an English preparatory course for US/UK universities • Historical, social, cultural context • Changing educational situation • Language switch and reversal • English language education OR • Education in English? • Whose education is it, anyway?

  8. My “Cultural Other”: persona Qatari (layers of identity) Gulf Arab/Arab/Muslim Gender segregation Position of the family (name, wasta) Position in the family External factors (outside the family sphere): position among peers Public vs. private sphere

  9. Other “cultural Others”? Expat teacher as the other Other Institution People Culture Nationality/ethnicity Religion Power in reverse

  10. The other side of otherising Two-way traffic What determines its criteria? “Geography” of otherising (proximity; distance; paradoxes of home territory vs. foreign land; the Centre vs. the Periphery – reversed?) Quantity/quality Is otherness enacted through culture alone? Is it always bad?

  11. Areas of tension • Teacher vs. students; students vs. teacher; power relations (institutional, social, political, economic) • Students vs. students (nationalities; religious backgrounds and affiliations; tribal connections; social status; gender otherisation; conservative vs. liberal; “good girls” vs. “bad girls”) • Cultural otherness in English language education (Arabic vs. English; QU vs. QF; local vs. foreign; traditional vs. modern; East vs. West)

  12. Areas of dialogue • Mutual curiosity • Trust building: respect, constructive criticism • Rapport building : discovering commonalities, humour, caring, time • Teacher-student relationships in and outside classroom

  13. Blank slide Questions? Ideas? Comments?

  14. The end Dziękuję!

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