Rightist Multiculturalism: Core Lessons on Neoconservative School Reform

by Buras; Kristen L.

• ISBN13: 9780415962650
• ISBN10: 041596265X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2008-02-21
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

For nearly two decades, E. D. Hirsch'¬"s book Cultural Literacyhas provoked debate over whose knowledge should be taught in schools, embodying the culture wars in education. Initially developed to mediate against the multicultural "threat," his educational vision inspired the Core Knowledge curriculum, which has garnered wide support from an array of communities, including traditionally marginalized groups. In this groundbreaking book, Kristen Buras provides the first detailed, critical examination of the Core Knowledge movement and explores the history and cultural politics underlying neoconservative initiatives in education. Ultimately, Rightist Multiculturalismdoes more than assess the limitations and possibilities of Core Knowledge. It illuminates why troubling educational reforms initiated by neoconservatives have acquired grassroots allegiance despite criticism that their vision is culturally elitist. More importantly, Buras argues understanding that neoconservative school reform itself has become a multicultural affair is the first step toward fighting an alternative war of position'¬ ;that is, reclaiming multiculturalism as a radically transformative project.

Table of Contents

Series Editors Introduction

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Rightist Multiculturalism as the New Hegemony

Historicizing Core Knowledge: Neoconservatism, Cultural Deficiency and the Civil Rights Frontier

Questioning Core Assumptions: A Critical Reading of E. D. Hirschs Educational Vision

Tracing the Core Knowledge Movement

The Disuniting of Americas History: Core Knowledge and the National Past

Core Lessons on Neoconservative School Reform

Appendices

Methodologies: Getting to the Core of the Matter

Correspondence on the Politics of Antonio Gramsci from Harvard

Educational Review

Notes

References

Index

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