Postmodernism, Unraveling Racism, and Democratic Institutions

John W. Murphy, Jung Min Choi

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 1997
• Print ISBN: 9780275956646
• eBook ISBN: 9780313370267
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Professors Murphy and Choi use postmodern philosophy to expose an important source of racism and cultural domination. They examine foundationalism, which they see at the core of the Western intellectual tradition and which is shown to foster a metaphysics of domination. By contrast, postmodernism undermines this root of racism. They demonstrate that foundationalism is not needed to support identity, institutions, or political order. Indeed, they assert that true pluralism is possible once foundationalist approaches to knowledge and order are set aside. Special attention is directed to two current modes of discrimination: institutional racism and symbolic violence. Murphy and Choi provide an intriguing look at ways to undercut the justification for racism and other threats to cultural difference. This volume will be of particular interest to scholars and other researchers in the areas of race relations, cultural studies, and political theory.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Introduction: What Makes This Work Postmodern?
• 1 The Sociological Tradition and Race Relations
• 2 Postmodernism: Theoretical Considerations
• 3 The Decentering of Identity
• 4 Knowledge, Intelligence, and the Life-World
• 5 Radical Pluralism and Social Order
• 6 Institutions and Institutionalized Discrimination
• 7 Symbolic Violence and Social Control
• 8 Race and Democracy
• Selected Bibliography
• Index